


【Things as They Are】

by Solara



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BAMF Uchiha Sasuke?, Denial, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Get ready for total confusion to takeover sasuke, Naruto takes Sasuke's role as avenger, Role-switch, Sasuke takes Naruto's Role, Time Travel, Total AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:42:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 43,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23131870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solara/pseuds/Solara
Summary: Sasuke wakes up in a world that's just like his, only he's found himself in a role that's better suited for a certain loud-mouthed orange-clad idiot. It's with some measure of shock that he realises their roles have been switched . . . in more ways than what he likes. As things progress he realises that this world is nothing like his own.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 28
Kudos: 74





	1. 【章一】

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Naruto.
> 
> This fic was adopted from alolha123. The first couple chapters are all alolha123's work with only some spelling and grammar tweaks from me as well as a few added bits like clearing up some things that were not previously known in the manga at the time this story was posted. I hope I can do this story justice as it does present a lot of possibilities and looks like it could be a lot of fun to right. So for all those who read this story back then, feel free to check out the changes I made, scenes I added and what not.
> 
> This fic was adopted from alolha123.
> 
> 22/06/13 Edit. Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow
> 
> PLEASE NOTE: There will be no pairings in this fic.
> 
> Things as they are
> 
> Sasuke wakes up in a world that's just like his, only he's found himself in a role that's better suited for a certain loud-mouthed orange-clad idiot. It's with some measure of shock that he realises their roles have been switched . . . in more ways than what he likes. As things progress he realises that this world, whatever it is, is nothing like his own. AU. Time travel.

**Chapter 1**  
  
He couldn't wake up.  
  
His first thought was that he was dead, because he'd never had trouble waking up before and now he did. So therefore he was dead . . . or Kabuto had tried some half-assed experiment again.  
  
His second thought was that he was asleep at Orochimaru's hideout, because that was obviously where he was supposed to be. Kabuto wouldn't dare try an experiment anywhere else either. In fact he was hardly ever allowed to experiment on the 'perfect vessel' so Sasuke had to wonder what this experiment was supposed to achieve for Orochimaru to have agreed to it.  
  
And his third thought was the rational _no_ , he couldn't be dead or asleep at Orochimaru's hideout because plainly, _there was light_ shining infuriatingly at his eyes and neither death nor the hideout had _sunlight_. Well not anywhere he was going if he died, that was for sure.  
  
He sat up abruptly, scowled at the light streaming in from the window, and promptly fell back onto the hard futon, covering his eyes with his arm and wishing the sun would go _away_ with all his will. He was still, strangely enough, quite content to sleep the morning away.  
  
And then froze.  
  
Slowly, the wheels in his mind started turning like steady clockwork. Something was off here. Now, he asked himself silently, why wasn't he at Orochimaru's hideout? Racking his brain, he tried to recall the last thing he'd done. He'd fallen asleep, right? Yes, that was it. But he'd fallen asleep at Orochimaru's hideout. And, when he awoke, that dreary hideout was replaced by a bright, sunny apartment.  
  
The irony of it all could not have been greater.  
  
He wondered if this was all just a dream, and after a few seconds of silent contemplation, he surmised that if it indeed was, he would soon wake from it. It was not a genjutsu because he'd been trained to recognise the influence of one almost immediately, since Itachi was proficient at it.

Rolling over and finding that his sense of touch was unnervingly _real_ , the black-haired teen surveyed the apartment with dull, disinterested eyes. It was sparsely-furnished but irritatingly messy. Wrinkled, second hand clothes littered the floor with a few other items that were not meant for the floor either.  
  
Wondering silently in disgust whether the resident of this apartment—if there was one—knew the meaning of 'laundry' and even 'organisation', he pushed himself up with a grunt and dazedly stared at the opposite wall. For a dream, this was disturbingly realistic. Was it possible this wasn't actually a dream and he'd instead been abducted? The thought crossed his mind with a twinge of fear, but he shook his head.  
  
Nah. Not possible. He must just be dreaming. For one thing, no one was stupid enough to steal from Orochimaru and kidnapping his prized 'pet' was as good as stealing. Secondly, no one was good enough to do it without waking Sasuke up and getting out of there alive. So a dream it was.  
  
He leaned his chin on the palm of one hand and let his elbow sink into his knee. How did one wake from a dream? He wondered. Were you supposed to pinch yourself? It seemed so rudimentary that for a split second he dismissed it, but then the logical part of him reasoned that if a dream was basically a weaker, self-inflicted genjutsu, then pain would work.  
  
So he pinched himself, and frowned as the surroundings remained the same.  
  
Huh. Maybe he needed to pinch harder.  
  
Bunching a small part of skin on his left thumb with his right thumb and index finger, he pinched himself harder this time, and still nothing happened.  
  
This is strange, he thought while sucking on the bleeding thumb. (It was something he'd never done before and yet it seemed so strangely natural—not that he'd ever tell anyone that; besides, this was a dream so he could do whatever he wanted.)  
  
Clumsily rising (hah! Since when did the great Uchiha Sasuke do anything but gracefully and fluidly?), he decided to change and explore this dream for the present. After all, he had nothing else to do. If pinching hard did not work, he would just stay in this dream for the present. Maiming himself was not something he wanted to do, because in this dream feelings were strangely intense, and a cut painful enough to release him would definitely hurt more than he cared to willingly experience. Besides, he was a patient sort of person. (He ignored that it was a statement that no one would be able to back.) He could wait until he woke up naturally. A dream was a dream. Why waste the opportunity to do whatever he wanted with no strings attached?  
  
Waking up in the morning and changing his clothes was a habit he'd never lost, even after he had no one to remind him to do so. Being active was in his blood, and remaining in pajamas often resulted in sleepiness, something practically _forbidden_ as an Uchiha.  
  
So since this was a dream he might as well get moving and since this was definitely a dream he might as well use what was around him.  
  
While carefully stepping over the various obstacles on the ground—not all of them were clothes; some were unidentifiable objects that lay here and there, and he was extremely careful to avoid them by a large margin—he crossed to the opposite side and opened the dresser drawer.  
  
The teenager's frown twitched imperceptibly as the horribly clashing coloured clothes and the smell of food— _food_ , imagine that in a clothes drawer!—assaulted his senses. Digging through the messy piles of clothes (even in a drawer they were not folded!), he picked out a threadbare, mostly-white shirt—there was a small brown stain at the left side, but it was at least cleaner than  
the other shirts—and some dark blue shorts one size too small.  
  
It would fit, he mused, but not very comfortably. He wondered then if he could imagine things up in dreams (he'd never tried before, and after all, nothing short of the Mangekyou Sharingan would defeat Itachi in his nightmares and he doubted he could imagine that) and proceeded to try, but unsurprisingly nothing happened and he felt foolish for trying. But at least now he knew it wouldn't work rather than wondering if it would.  
  
Crossing yet another sea of strewn clothes, he stepped into the bathroom and was slightly relieved to see that it was at least clean. A faint smell of some cleaner—was that bleach?—drifted through the air, and silently he wondered why this person's bathroom was so clean—except for the mirror, which was hardly a mirror due to some sort of whitish _paste_ on its surface—while the rest of his apartment was messy. Ah well. It didn't matter, for the time being.  
  
As he changed, he wondered whether in dreams, there was actually an owner to this apartment. Or, since he woke up here, was he the owner? _No_ , he thought in disgust. _Even my dream self wouldn't be so messy._  
  
He pulled his shirt over his arms and found that it fit just right, even though it wasn't supposed to. Furrowing his brow in confusion, he then pulled on his shorts, which again fit. That was strange. Was his vision somehow damaged that he couldn't tell what would fit him and what wouldn't? Because he was absolutely sure that the clothes he'd picked out wouldn't fit. At least not comfortably. Slowly concluding that because it was a dream, and dreams were limited only by the imagination, he decided that it was probably possible.  
  
However, a strange feeling came over him all the same. A sort of realisation that all was not as it should be. Steps were harder in that distances that he should've been able to easily reach were not so. The height of things was all wrong too. The mirror was too high, the set of dresser drawers even more so. Little things like that were starting to stick out.  
  
Shaking it off with more quickness than an emotionally-stunted Uchiha _ought_ to have done, he hoped this wasn't a nightmare. He'd only had nightmares about his clan's massacre, but every time he had it, it seemed more and more traumatic. True, this wasn't the scene for the massacre, but he wouldn't put it past his imaginative mind to find some way to warp this sunny atmosphere. Those nightmares only ever served as fuel to keep on striving for his goal, to never go backwards, never go back to the Leaf.  
  
Since this was most definitely a dream, since it couldn't be anything else, he could use whatever he wanted no matter what it was. As such he reached for the toothbrush, but abruptly stopped. It was orange.  
  
Suddenly, an influx of images of a blond dobe sprang uninvited into his mind. He reeled back, clutching his head. Why now? He'd never had problems with the colour orange before. It did remind him of the dobe, which was why he shunned the colour, but it didn't actually send him into headaches.  
  
Taking a deep breath to calm his thudding heart, he swallowed and took the toothbrush again, glaring at it as if he was challenging it to send him into a headache again. When it didn't—it was an inanimate object, why on earth would he expect a sneering answer?—he brushed his teeth with calmness that betrayed none of his slowly ascending nervousness. This was so unlike any of the dreams (nightmares, rather) that he was almost _expecting_ Itachi to barge in the door any moment. (Granted, that would be strange enough, but Itachi was unfortunately ineluctable in his dreams, a guaranteed presence sent to taunt him every night.)  
  
He rubbed his eyes and flinched as a sharp pain attacked his left eye. More annoyed than hurt, he  
rubbed the mirror with a nearby towel to inspect his eye. (He hoped that a capillary hadn't broken—how would he use the Sharingan then?) When the mirror had cleared somewhat, he leaned in to stare at himself.  
  
Not at his eye, per se. At his whole _body._  
  
Had he grown… _shorter_?  
  
His complexion had always been pale—even as a child, his mother worried whether her youngest was constantly ill or not—but now, it was inexplicably toughened, as if he'd trained outside for hours and hours. (He had never trained so hard that his face became hard like this before! Even to defeat his brother because Orochimaru would usually force him to rest for his own good, or rather Orochimaru's.) Most of his baby fat was gone, but some around the cheeks remained—like he was about to enter adolescence instead of being in it. His eyes were wider and more innocent looking. They had not yet been tainted with the sights of war and death. Fewer creases were between his eyebrows than when he'd last checked.  
  
It was like… well, he was _twelve_ again . . . only he wasn't the same as he remembered he should be.  
  
… _That_ was a scary thought.  
  
_But, this was just a dream, wasn't it?_ He thought as his breaths rushed out, matching his thudding heart. Anything could happen. And if his sadistic mind wanted him to relive his Genin days… well, this would be the age to do it.  
  
After finishing cleaning up and putting everything back in their respective holders more neatly than he'd found them, he crossed the perilous, obstacle-ridden floor to the adjacent wall, where a messily marked calendar hung off of a pushpin that seemed to defy all laws of gravity, with it hanging so precariously out of the hole in the wall. – he was momentarily taken aback by the fact that anyone who lived in an apartment this messy would actually bother to keep a calendar – snatching it and effectively uprooting the poor pin, he stared at the calendar with disbelief.  
  
It was the day for his Academy Graduation Exams. This couldn't be happening.  
  
He had just gone back three years in time in this dream.  
  
Giving an annoyed huff, he dropped the calendar on the floor since the pushpin was useless and the addition of the calendar really wouldn't make much of a difference to the rest of the mess on the floor and stood there, wondering what he should do. It was a dream, wasn't it? Nothing he did really mattered at all. And if he experienced the past, so what? It couldn't be as bad as Itachi and that night. For once, he might actually like what he dreamt. It was different at least. Not the same torturous events that had plagued his sleep for years. It was almost a relief.  
  
Crossing the floor again—having resigned to his fate in cleaning up this horrid mess later since he was stuck here for now—he opened the fridge and was completely horrified to see a few rotting vegetables, some sealed container of _refrigerated mold—what on earth was that doing there?!_ —and a carton of milk, which he pulled out before pushing it back in with distaste on his face. It had expired two years prior to the present date. He wondered if there was anything edible at all.  
  
Opening the pantry beside the refrigerator, he was slightly less surprised at the contents. It was mostly empty, except for a large—and that was an understatement—pile of neatly-stacked instant ramen packages. It was like being in Naruto's apartment, he thought dryly. Never mind the fact that he'd never actually been in his blond teammate's apartment.  
  
Although he disliked ramen for a number of reasons—one of them being that they strongly reminded him of his Genin days and especially of the dobe—there was nothing else to eat, so he took one out, filled it to the line with hot water, and let it sit. The smell of ramen soon permeated the air and, unable to resist his growling stomach, he sat down and began to eat hungrily yet with some manners as his mother had drilled into him until he could do it without thought.  
  
It was better than nothing, he supposed. But he could taste the cheap ingredients put in there. What brand was it? He took a quick glance at the side. Oh, a generic brand. Resuming his eating, he mused that thought. Now, why would this dream have the cheapest of the cheapest foods? He'd at least assume his mind would always want the best, as he was an Uchiha.  
  
This really was Naruto's apartment, he thought, and then snorted. Of course. Only Naruto would have such a messy apartment.  
  
After finishing his ramen with surprising alacrity, he glanced around, at a loss for what to do next in this dream while waiting for himself to wake up. Although he wasn't exactly fond of his graduation day, he supposed he could humour the dream a bit more. If he felt like it later, he would join the others for the test; however, if he didn't feel like it… well, it was only a dream. Failing the test because of absenteeism wouldn't bear much weight on him … yet it would be shameful as an Uchiha. Still, a dream was a dream.  
  
Finding and pulling on some shoes that were at least half-decent, the black-haired boy strode out the door with a distinct calmness around him.  
  
With a casual indifference perfected years ago Sasuke started to walk down the street.

* * *

They were staring at him.  
  
Not really an accurate statement. Stare just seemed so harmless. The looks that shot in his direction didn't seem harmless and promised anything but 'harmless'.  
  
He'd noticed it quite a while ago, but still he wasn't used to it. People had stared at him in the past before, but that was because he was the 'oh-so-famous last Uchiha', and those stares were different, kinder and sympathetic with just a hint of pride. These ones though . . . They were trying to be discreet, but some weren't doing as good as a job as he knew they could be doing. It was as if they were mixed between staring and pulling away.  
  
A mother pulled her child away from him, and he watched them leave his sight with feigned disinterest on his face. Now, that was interesting. Why would they be afraid of him?  
  
He'd watched Naruto receive stares like these once, while they were walking in the village. Of course the dobe had never noticed them—or at least, he hadn't shown that he was aware of them—but he had noticed. It was something that puzzled him enough, but his curiosity was not enough for him to actually search the answers out. Now that he was getting the same stares… well, he wondered. This dream was confusing. Was this supposed to hurt him, like all of those dreams about Itachi and the massacre and etcetera did? If so, it wasn't working. He'd never really cared much for what the people of Konoha thought.  
  
Or, there was something worse about to come up. He braced himself mentally for whatever was going to come—this was like the calm before the storm, after all. Something always happened. It had to. Itachi would come, he always did.  
  
Another family pulled away from him. He laughed silently; it was as if he'd changed places with Naruto! The solitude was actually quite refreshing. No simpering shopkeepers trying to gain his attention. No sympathetic attempted heart to hearts from concerned mothers. NOT A SINGLE  
FANGIRL IN SIGHT. It just might be better for once.

* * *

He didn't feel like taking the graduating test, so he turned left at the intersection right before the academy. They wouldn't miss him, after all. They had never had. Besides, all of this old Konohagakure was simply a figment of his imagination, and he could do whatever he wanted without fearing the consequences. He was free, finally. He just hoped the calm would last long enough for him to wake up and he'd never have to find out what the storm part was.  
  
Making a few turns around and about to survey the area, he walked up to a vegetable stand that he'd visited regularly during his time in Konoha. The owner was an old lady friend of the Uchihas, so he was often given them free. Although he didn't care for gifts because of his last name, he often just accepted it and left. After all, he'd been taught that it was rude not to.  
  
Mm. The tomatoes here were just as ripe as they had ever been. Licking his lips, he reached out to take one, but suddenly an old, sere hand swatted his away. Startled, he glanced up at the woman, who had an odd expression on her face which he'd never, _ever_ seen her with before.  
  
"You thief!" she accused, her screeching drawl grating against Sasuke's nerves. "You just think you can take whatever you want from _my_ stand? You're a no good, dirty little runt! Tryin' to steal my tomatoes, eh? I'll show you what you get—" she raised a hand to slap him.  
  
Shocked far beyond words, Sasuke just shook his head and raised both of his hands in defence. He hadn't even been allowed to attempt to buy anything! She'd just assumed he wouldn't pay —never mind the fact that he had just been thinking about how he had never had to do so— He glanced around at the other surrounding people, surely they wouldn't let this pass! Yet with a sinking heart he realized that they were not only watching it happen, but watching with contempt! He hadn't _deserved_ this, had he? Surely not!  
  
"You must be mistaken!" he protested, but another bystander pulled him away from her.  
  
"You!" the man said harshly, "Get outta' here!" He threw Sasuke to the ground with surprising force. "And don't come back!" he yelled after him.  
  
Utterly bewildered, Sasuke dashed along the street. He had meant to pay for the tomato, honestly! But somehow, things got mixed up. Why had that woman—that woman, who had always given him a free tomato with a smile when he stopped by—gotten so angry at him?  
  
No. It wasn't anger. It was something far deeper.  
  
He let out a breath that he didn't known he'd been holding. So this was it. This was how his cruel, cruel mind was going to torture him. By making him disliked—rather, _hated!_ —by the people who he knew.  
  
He stopped, a sudden thought coming to mind. Well, good thing he didn't actually have that many people who he really _knew_ , he thought dryly as he then continued on.

* * *

"Sasuke!" A voice called out as he stopped from his depressed walk. Who could be calling him now? Could it be another of the dream's tortures? But… why did that voice call him so familiarly? Few people called him that. And he didn't really care for it, either.  
  
He turned around, and promptly blinked in confusion. Iruka-sensei? Then, his expression hardened. He'd unknowingly made a U-turn and somehow travelled back to the Academy. What would his former teacher do to him now? "Iruka-sensei," he said evenly, betraying no emotion.  
  
"You were supposed to be in the class thirty minutes ago!" the Chuunin yelled, grabbing the front  
of Sasuke's shirt.  
  
Startled at this utterly _audacious_ act, he glared at his teacher. "So?" he shot back.  
  
"Don't play games with me!" Iruka yelled. "You're going to miss your graduating exams!"  
  
"And what if I don't want to graduate?" was the irked response. He'd had enough of this dream already.  
  
Iruka's mouth fell open slightly as he processed the statement. Brushing his hand off, Sasuke pulled away from his teacher. Surprisingly, Iruka's words came out much softer than he'd expected. Almost disappointed, really—though the disappointment held no weight on his shoulders. As heartless as it was, Sasuke had never really cared for his Academy teacher; but the words themselves shook him into silence.  
  
"You gave up on your dream?" Iruka asked, a light in his eyes dimming.  
  
And Sasuke honestly didn't know _why_ that bothered him, because it _shouldn't_ have and it had never mattered before. Not when he answered Iruka indifferently when he'd been asked about the massacre, not when he'd shoved a fangirl off of the roof he was sitting on, and not when he became more closed and cold. So he didn't answer, settling for an expression which would've looked pretty impressive had his lower lip not unknowingly stuck out, making it seem more like a young child's pout.  
  
"You… don't want to be Hokage?" Iruka frowned.  
  
This time he did respond. "H-Hokage?!" Sasuke spluttered out indignantly, caught off guard. "Why would I want to be that?"  
  
Almost immediately as he said that, he regretted it. Iruka's eyes lit with a light of utter shock, and then suspicion, and then finally disappointment. "Did… something happen?" the Chuunin asked gently.  
  
"No," Sasuke all but spat out. Nothing, except that he'd woken up in a weird place and people he thought he knew were suddenly strangers.  
  
Slightly put off by the viciousness in the younger shinobi's tone, Iruka adopted his usual serious face again. "Well, you should go in anyway. I don't believe that you don't want to become a shinobi—so head on in and you can thank me for it later." And without any room to protest, Iruka shoved Sasuke towards the Academy door, a mere twenty feet but almost an eternity away.  
  
"I don't _want_ to go," Sasuke gritted out forcefully as he tried to resist Iruka's surprisingly strong grip. He was the personal student of Orochimaru, so why couldn't he resist this lowly _Chuunin?!_  
  
Iruka said nothing as he carted the protesting boy to the Academy.

* * *

Sasuke stopped thrashing around as soon as they entered his old classroom. It brought back memories which he'd rather not remember—seeing as they would only pour guilt on his conscience—but some part of him said _yes, this is right._ Everything was back to… well, when it was _normal._  
  
He hated himself for liking it.  
  
Why would he care, anyway? Hadn't his choice been Orochimaru, and hadn't he known that things could never go back to normal, no matter how much he wanted it later? Not that he'd wanted it before he'd had this dream. He just knew he could never have it again. Hadn't he _abandoned_ this life for power?  
  
Dazedly, he barely felt Iruka's final push into the room and cheery, "We'll be starting the exams in a few minutes, so stay here!" as he practically stumbled to the desks. He felt a few pairs of eyes on his back, and though his sometimes overly-cautious senses twitched, he ignored them as he surveyed the room. All of the Rookie Nine were here— _of course, where would they be otherwise?_ —and with a nervous lurch he saw, among the brown and blond and black hairstyles, a head of cherry pink.  
  
"Sakura," he whispered quietly to himself. She hadn't noticed him yet, and he honestly didn't know if that was good or bad. Their last meeting hadn't exactly been pleasant.  
  
Then, turning, he saw, with another lurch in his stomach, a mop of familiar blond hair. He saw the crystalline blue eyes that he hadn't seen since that meeting at the hideout, where his Team sans Kakashi, sporting two new members had shown up unexpectedly and, he saw—  
  
He was frowning.  
  
_Naruto was frowning._  
  
That was _impossible_ —a contradiction in itself—because Naruto _never_ frowned.  
  
_Ever._  
  
Sure he snarled and sneered at his enemy during battle but this was not the battlefield and there was no enemy in sight. This was the genin graduation exam!  
  
The last time he'd seen the dobe, he'd been too shocked at just seeing Sasuke after so long that he hadn't been able to do much but Sasuke had felt the power that he radiated. Had the dobe been prepared he just might have been able to succeed in his goal to bring Sasuke back to the Leaf.  
  
Now though, he was like a brooding genin, slightly above average.  
  
Come to think of it, Naruto had this expression on—some expression that Sasuke himself had used during his Academy days. An expression along the lines of, 'I could be doing better things, like training.' That just didn't happen either. Things like that were what Sasuke was supposed to do. Not Naruto. Never, never, _never_ Naruto!  
  
So _why on earth_ was it happening?  
  
Suddenly, he realized something. It was minor, but nevertheless annoying and since it was his dream world it sort of took preference, and that added to the previous frustration of Naruto's behaviour grated on Sasuke's nerves. Barely suppressing his anger, he walked directly up to the blond and rapped the desk to get his former— _future?_ —teammate's attention. "Dobe," he snapped, "you're sitting in my seat." Not that he particularly cared what seat he sat in, it was just a habit that he rather liked sticking to, dream or not.  
  
The room stilled suddenly, and all eyes were on the two.  
  
Naruto slowly raised his head, a simmering light in his eyes that promised grave harm to those they were focused on and _stared_ at Sasuke. "What did you say?" he asked in a clear, concise, infuriatingly _cool_ manner that was also never associated with Naruto.  
  
"I said, you're sitting in my seat." Sasuke repeated a bit more forcefully.  
  
"No, I'm not."  
  
"You're not." Almost a question but not quite there. He didn't want to give the dobe the satisfaction.  
  
"That's right."  
  
"You're wrong."  
  
Naruto cocked his head slightly, the hard gaze never wavering. "No, I'm not."  
  
Sasuke copied the blond, cocking his head as well. "You are."  
  
Silence reigned in the room—not a single person stirred. One could almost see the electric sparks flying between the two's eyes. If it weren't for the irritation he was currently feeling, Sasuke might have even found this situation slightly funny.  
  
"I know I'm not wrong," Naruto said quietly but firmly, "because I've sat in this place for the last four years—" he leaned forward— "Dobe."  
  
Sasuke's eyes grew cold— _How dare he say something like that!_ —and he opened his mouth to respond, before suddenly shutting it and settling for simply glaring at Naruto. Irritation was now simply too mild a word to use to describe what he was currently feeling. A dream was a dream and like all dreams something just had to interrupt. Iruka was approaching the classroom, and if he saw them arguing matters would only become more… troublesome, for the lack of a better word. "Fish-cake boy," Sasuke muttered under his breath before walking around the desk and sitting next to Naruto who seemed to be ignoring the muttered statement, probably having sensed Iruka as well.  
  
Discreetly watching the bystanders' shocked expressions, Sasuke could only wonder what on earth he had gotten himself into. He leaned back as Sakura—as he had expected—stomped over to him and demanded loudly for him to move so she could sit next to her Naruto-kun.  
  
Wait, _what?_  
  
Whoa. _Rewind_. What had just _happened?_ If he was one to wear his heart on his sleeve then he'd have shown his shock but as it was he wasn't one to wear his heart on his sleeve so he managed to keep the perplexity he was feeling from his features.  
  
Sakura? Asking him to move so she could sit next to _Naruto?!_  
  
That just didn't happen. A lot of things that shouldn't happen were happening though and Sasuke was liking this less and less. Where was his big brother when he needed the murdering traitor? He'd be _almost glad_ to see him, even if he did walk through that door and start killing every person in this room. At least the dream would be over and he could then wake up and get back to his training.  
  
He stared at the ranting Sakura out of the corner of his eye. Still, no expression crossed his features, but inside an overwhelming confusion had taken over his mind. On one hand he was contemplating Naruto's density for ever having had a crush on Sakura. Now that he saw Sakura from the dobe's point of view, he had to conclude that he was if possible, even more of a dobe for ever having a crush on the pink haired kunoichi.  
  
On the other hand . . .  
  
Sakura _was_ asking _him_ to move so she could sit next to _Naruto._ This wasn't just his imagination. —Or was it since it was his dream?

Watching her with a bland eye and having had enough of the high pitched screech, he said shortly, "Sakura, if Naruto actually wanted to you sit next to him, he'd _ask_."  
  
Sakura's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish's.  
  
Returning his attention to the empty front of the class, he mulled over his situations. This was a strange dream, he thought, where Naruto was him and he was Naruto and Sakura was obsessed over his teammate. _When am I going to wake up?_ He wondered silently.  
  
"But Naruto-kun didn't ask you, either!" Sakura finally protested.  
  
He again glanced at her. "You took a long time to respond for someone who is supposed to be so smart. Besides, he's not telling me to get lost." he remarked.  
  
As she was about to erupt, Iruka walked in briskly, so she left to some other seat, fuming all the way. But it wasn't like Sasuke really cared, anyway. She'd gotten better over the years or so he'd heard, but he'd left Konoha before she'd really become powerful, and besides—his ties had been cut long ago.  
  
Iruka sternly commanded, "Everyone, back to your seats now!" Though the command was redundant, since everyone was pretty much seated anyways except for the few that had gone to talk to friends on the other side of the classroom.  
  
However, not brave enough to cross their admittedly fearsome sensei, the idling students walked back to whatever seat was theirs. Or open.  
  
Sasuke did not miss the look of surprise that cross the chunin's face when he noted that Sasuke was sitting next to Naruto but he didn't dwell in it and the surprise was quickly covered up with a cheerful smile that made the sensei so likeable.  
  
"Now, it's time for the graduating exam!" Iruka announced. He then proceeded to explain the tests, rules, and whatnot as Sasuke tuned him out having heard it all before. He'd paid attention the first time but he wasn't about to do that again. It had been a tiresome test of his patience that was for sure.  
  
_Why am I here again?_ He complained, resisting the urge to smack his head on the table.

* * *

When his name was called for the ninjutsu part of the exam, he walked into the next room with a cool—but bordering on annoyed—gaze. _Oh yes_ , he thought, irritated, _I'm here because Irukasensei thought I should be in the exam instead of wandering off_. He scowled. _What a complete waste of time._  
  
The genjutsu had been laughably easy, in fact he'd chuckled a bit. The written exam had been ever more hilarious and as such Sasuke had made sarcastic remarks to just about every question, wondering the whole time whether he'd get marks for creativity. He had also placed his own genjutsu on the paper, just to see if the other sensei would see through it. So far it looked like they hadn't.  
  
Iruka and Mizuki sat behind an elongated desk which had many rows of gleaming hitai-ates on it. Motioning to start, Iruka said, "You may begin. Please create at least four _bunshin_."  
  
This was too easy. Was it a joke? It seemed like the whole test had been one so far and he'd expected something a little more, well more. He supposed that he kept forgetting he wasn't technically a genin.  
  
Sasuke tensed, but created the seal and spoke, " _Bunshin no jutsu_ ," and four _bunshin_ —two on each side—appeared. They were perfect, as expected from an Uchiha and were near impossible to tell from the original without touching them. He figured that most of the kids at the Academy could at least produce _something_ for the bunshin exam. Hell even Naruto could, even if they never looked right.  
  
But Iruka and Mizuki were obviously surprised.  
  
In fact, they looked like gaping goldfish at the moment.  
  
Large eyes, open mouthed that also seemed to want to open and close but not quite managing it.  
  
"W-Well," Iruka stuttered, having a hard time finding his voice.  
  
One of Sasuke's eyebrows rose. He had done what they had asked for. Was that so… unexpected? Why had they even asked if they thought he wouldn't—or couldn't—have done it? Was this another part of the test?  
  
He cleared his throat, and Mizuki wordlessly held out a hitai-ate to him. Walking forward, he took it, and left the room. An interesting fact to note, but not something that particularly caught his curiosity, was the look of disappointment and loathing in Mizuki's eyes. He shrugged it off as inconsequential. This was only a dream after all. Still it made him wonder what had happened to Naruto the first time he'd failed his exam. After all he'd come back the next day with a headband so something had to have happened and something told him Mizuki had something to do with it.  
  
How his unconscious mind knew that was a mystery to him.  
  
As he and the next person in line passed each other in the hall, he stared at his hitai-ate. It would be useful, he mused. He hadn't had one in such a long time that… it would feel… His thoughts trailing off into silence, he lifted the headband and tied it around his forehead almost out of reflex. It felt restricting, like a chain to this village. When he had the chance, he would take it off and draw a line through that symbol, for the second time.  
  
He'd abandon this village again and he wouldn't look back, not for a moment.  
  
But this was just a dream, wasn't it?


	2. 【章二】

**Chapter 2**  
  
He couldn't care any less about Graduation Day at all, because he was stuck in some dream that he couldn't wake up from and a nightmare that was about to begin. So as Iruka- _sensei_ gave his congratulatory speech that he'd heard for the third time (the first one was when Itachi had graduated, but he was three and didn't remember it; the second was when _he_ had graduated; and ironically, he was graduating again, today), he conveniently tuned him out and fiddled with his hitai-ate, which felt expectedly uncomfortable. Reaching up and adjusting it for the umpteenth time, he ignored the surprised and slightly aghast looks he was getting.  
  
Tch. Hadn't they seen anyone graduate before? Apparently not. But then hadn't Naruto gotten the same looks when he'd walked into the team assignments?  
Sending a toned-down glare their way, he scowled and slumped in his chair, doing his best to ignore the urge to simply pull the headband off and toss it. It would only garner more questions and right now he wasn't in the mood for questions. What genius ordered that Graduation ceremonies should be held _outside?_ It was unbearably hot and his neck and forehead were drenched in sweat. If he was training, he wouldn't have minded the sweat, but here he was sitting in a lawn chair listening to his ex-Academy-sensei speak and _that_ , in his books, was _hardly_ worth getting sweaty about.  
  
"… Congratulations, Shinobi of the Leaf!" Iruka ended the speech, and the audience (sans one Uchiha Sasuke) erupted in applause.  
  
It might have been inspiring, and it might have been uplifting, but the fact that it was just a dream still remained and Sasuke would not allow himself to be moved by that speech. He could not, because the past events and such were simply of the past and no more important than the people he'd left behind there. Not to mention, he'd heard it twice before.

* * *

He sat on the swing, rocking back and forth in a slow, rhythmic pattern. Staring at the crowd of beaming students and proud parents, he felt himself wishing that his otou-san had come to his graduation; but of course, Uchiha Fugaku could never have come, because by that time he'd already been murdered in cold blood by his other son.  
  
Still, Sasuke did wonder if he'd have come if he hadn't been murdered or would there have been curt excuses that he had to work, that there were more important things going on, or merely a grunt of 'As expected from the Uchiha and the son of the Head of the Clan.' His mother would have come and she'd have been proud, smiling with the other parents. But Sasuke would never know for sure. Itachi had killed them before he could ever find out.  
  
Managing to pull the protective façade of blankness onto his mind, Sasuke wondered idly where Naruto was. That earlier stunt the blond dobe had pulled was probably one of his tricks again—he dismissed the fact that everyone else seemed to have played along with it as mere convincing from Naruto's part—and he wouldn't stand for it. Che. The dobe needed to learn his lesson, after all.  
  
Standing up and bouncing on the balls of his feet to stretch his limbs, he jumped up into the trees and, with one last brief glance at the crowd below, Sasuke dashed away to find the blond Genin.  
  
No one noticed him leave, and if they'd known they honestly wouldn't have cared at all. Except a thoughtful silver haired Academy sensei who was now forced to re-adjust all his carefully made plans.

* * *

The dobe was sitting on the bank of a river that ran a fair distance from the Academy. Thankfully, it hadn't taken long for Sasuke to find him, as he was proficient at tracing chakra signatures. Naruto's was one he knew especially well.  
  
Walking up to the dobe, he tapped him on the shoulder. "Naruto."  
  
Naruto whirled around, half-surprised at it being Sasuke (that expression practically screamed _How on earth did you sneak up on me without me noticing?!)_ and half-enraged at anyone bothering him on this day. Annoyance seeped out of his sapphire eyes. "What do you want?" he asked rudely. Sasuke realised with a jolt that Naruto had disappeared from the Academy Graduation Ceremony almost as quickly as he had, if not even more so. What did that say?  
  
"Tch. That stunt back at the class. What did you mean when you said you'd been sitting in that same seat for four years?" Sasuke had never been very good at being subtle. Blunt was more of his personality. (But his social skills, in general, were absolutely failing. The only thing that kept  
him from being hated was that he was an Uchiha and his looks, but that didn't appear to be the case here.)  
  
"What did I mean?" Naruto asked incredulously. "What I meant, of course. I have been sitting there for four whole years. Or was that sentence too big to get into your stupid head?" he sneered.  
  
"I'm not the one who's considered unintelligent by most of the Shinobi population." Sasuke retorted calmly. Inside, he was seething. How dare the dobe act like this towards him! He was _so_ glad Orochimaru had taught him to be even more indifferent towards others' actions than he already was, because Naruto was _really_ getting on his nerves! Not to mention this was a rather childish fight because now that Sasuke had had some time to think, he realised that he, Uchiha Sasuke, was indeed the one any Shinobi would deem unintelligent upon meeting.  
  
Obviously, Naruto felt the same about him, the whole _'How dare he?'_ part. " _What_ did you say?" he growled out.  
  
"I said," the Uchiha said coolly, "that I'm not the one who's considered unintelligent by most of the Shinobi population, _dobe_."  
  
"You—!" The blonde snarled as he jumped up and hot-headedly began attacking him. Well at least that was the same.  
  
Sasuke, who had expected this, easily dodged all thrusts and kicks from his future teammate. "Is that all you've got?" he asked mockingly. "I know a few civilians who can do better than this!" They were Uchiha civilians, and hadn't been civilians for long, having retired early from a ninja career, but that didn't matter, did it? They were still civilans.  
  
Infuriated, Naruto began attacking more intelligently—instead of blindly punching and kicking, he now planned his attacks. More and more attacks were aimed at his joints and head, while less and less attacks of Sasuke's were hitting. This was not Naruto, his usual style anyway. This spoke of clan training, or ninja parents.  
  
However, Sasuke was not Orochimaru's pupil for nothing; as Naruto's attacks gained more strategy, his defence did as well. His style was the Dance of the Snake, but unfortunately he couldn't use it here. Regardless of that, though, he was still very advanced and pushed Naruto back. He wasn't an Uchiha for nothing and had spent a fair amount of time with Orochimaru, improving on the already near flawless taijutsu.  
  
As he was about to claim victory by knocking Naruto unconscious, he froze. Naruto was standing there, his arms stiff, but in his hands was a huge swirling ball of blue chakra.  
  
Rasengan.  
  
Only this time, the dobe was missing the Shadow Clone that usually helped him with the attack.  
  
That attack— _no don't think of that, the Valley of the End was three years ago! How could it still give me nightmares? Don't think about it! This can't be happening, we're only twelve years old! How did he learn this? He's going to kill me!—_  
  
Only one word formed on his lips: "How…?"  
  
All seemed as if it was in slow motion. Naruto rushing at him, the water running like time in the small river, the branches dancing their final, haunting waltz in the wind— _I'm going to die I'm going to die no I haven't killed Itachi yet why can't I move is this it—_  
  
Suddenly, it stopped.  
  
Naruto's half-formed Rasengan—how could he have not noticed that it was only a half a Rasengan and not a fully formed one, like back then?—suddenly fizzled out in Naruto's hands, which were a mere meter away.  
  
Gasping for breath, Naruto collapsed onto the ground and cursed. Then, he muttered to himself, "Why… Why can't I do it?"  
  
Were the Shadow Clones that important to the formation of the Rasengan? At least for Naruto anyways. He didn't appear to know the Shadow Clone technique this time around and Sasuke wasn't sure where he had learnt it the first time, but he'd seen it done enough times to know how it was done. Still … this Naruto would not listen to him. No matter if it was for help, especially if it was for help.  
  
So Sasuke said nothing. He knew far too well the dismay of failure and the lessons that could be learned from it. This Naruto—this angry, dark, arrogant Naruto so unlike the blond dobe he knew—could do well to learn the lesson of pride and unfinished techniques. Even _he_ didn't use techniques unless he had full control over them. He wasn't so arrogant … or perhaps desperate.  
  
But Naruto… that attack… He'd really, truly wanted to kill—or at least massively injure—him, hadn't he? And if so, why?  
  
Tch. It was nothing new, Sasuke tried to convince himself; but a feeling that he hadn't felt since he'd woken up from his injuries in the Valley of the End would not leave. "Dobe," he whispered. "You just want to kill me that much?" feeling an odd flutter in his chest as he parroted a bastardised version of Naruto's words to him.  
  
"I—" Naruto's voice broke off. Conflicting emotions flitted across his face: anger, confusion, regret, shame and sadness. Perhaps he could help the other out?  
  
"That really isn't an attack you should do until you've completely mastered it," Sasuke commented, reverting back to his normal self. "If it doesn't work correctly, you could end up damaging—"  
  
"I _know!"_ Naruto suddenly interrupted angrily. "I _know_ , okay? Don't try to lord over me, dead last! I _know!"_  
  
Annoyed at this outburst and dismissing all ideas of helping him, Sasuke retorted, "Well, obviously you don't know, because a minute ago _you tried to use it!"_  
  
_"Don't try to understand!"_ Naruto shouted back. "Don't _try_ to understand! _None_ of you—not _you_ , not _otou-san_ , not _anyone_ , can understand at all! So don't _try!"_ Storming off, Naruto left the Uchiha behind at the river.  
  
Shocked _almost_ beyond words, Sasuke wondered out loud, "What was _that_ all about?" Otou-san? Naruto didn't have parents … did he?  
  
The birds, which had started chirping sometime after they'd stopped fighting, sang their consolation; but what he really needed were answers to the questions he had, and he'd come out with more questions than answers.

* * *

Sasuke entered the classroom again the next day with uninterested eyes. After that confrontation, he'd returned to the apartment (he refused to acknowledge it as "his"), where he spent the rest of the day cleaning up –half disgusted and half fascinated with some of the things that he'd found– and musing over the many questions that he had. Now, his expression matching that of a block of  
wood, he blended almost perfectly with the crowd of students filing in.  
  
He'd hoped that last night, when he went to sleep, he'd wake up in Orochimaru's hideout again—not that he really liked the place, but it was better than having to deal with his old life—but to his dismay, nothing had happened, prompting him to believe that this wasn't a naturally induced sleep and therefor was an unnatural dream. Today, he would get sorted into Kakashi's team again, wait three hours, listen to the others introduce themselves, and then return to the apartment and finish cleaning it up. If he had his choice, he would work on a way to quickly return back to the living world; but as a new Genin, his free days were limited.  
  
He spotted Naruto sitting in his seat again, and noticed the subtle glances the blonde was giving him. He couldn't decipher their meaning. He did notice that Sakura and Ino were glaring at each other and yesterday's grumbling with Sakura came to mind. Was the dobe hoping he'd sit next to him again to avoid a fangirl? Or was it yesterday's little fight that was getting to him? Whatever it was, Sasuke knew the horrors and the annoyance of fangirls and as much as he disliked the dobe, fangirls were something he only wished upon Orochimaru. So, on a whim, he strode over to the desk and—ignoring the aghast and horrified looks the rest of the class gave him—pulled the chair out next to Naruto and sat down.  
  
Almost immediately after he set down his bag, Sakura and Ino stormed over to him. Those two were amazingly united when faced with a common enemy. "What are you _doing?!"_ Sakura screeched.  
  
"What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" Sasuke shot back, rolling a lazy eye at them. (It was hardly in character for him, but teasing these fangirls was absolutely an irresistible idea to him, because contrary to popular belief, Uchiha Sasuke actually did have a sense of humour! Just not one that most actually understood.)  
  
"Get out!" Ino ordered. "I'm sitting next to Naruto-kun!"  
  
"Tch. As if."  
  
"Out!" Sakura shouted, raising her fist. "Or—!" The fist plummeted towards his head.  
  
In a flash, Sasuke's arm was out and his hand firmly grasped her fist, effectively stopping the attack. He didn't even _blink._ Stunned into silence, both girls and the rest of the class stared at him. He was not Naruto and as such he would not allow the pink haired annoyance to hit him just for her own satisfaction. He couldn't care less about her own desires.  
  
He debated mentally whether to leak some _sakki_ out and decided that, for ruining his morning, these annoying girls deserved it. As the _sakki_ washed over the crowd, Naruto's eyes—which had been staring at him ever since he'd sat down—grew progressively wider.  
  
"You were saying something?" Sasuke asked.  
  
With small 'eep's the two girls rushed back and the _sakki_ dissipated. Rolling his eyes at them, Sasuke sat back, closed his eyes, and relaxed. No one else would bother him, another bonus to that little move.  
  
A tap on his shoulder from his right. _Except that dobe_ , he thought, miffed.  
  
"What?" he asked, not bothering to open his eyes. He'd also been up late cleaning out that monstrosity he was supposed to call home.  
  
"How did you do that?" Naruto asked. His voice was calm and serious—nothing like the tone he'd  
shouted in the previous day.  
  
"What?" the Uchiha asked mockingly. "You want to learn?"  
  
"No," Naruto hissed back, "but I want to know how _you_ , of all people, did that."  
  
Sasuke opened his eyes. "Naruto, you're so _nice_ ," he said sarcastically. Then, his tone reverted back to normal. "How _else_ do you release _sakki?_ I thought that by now even you would have realised that I'm not the dobe you think I am."  
  
A familiar, scarred-face, brown-haired chunin walked into the room as Sasuke finished saying this. _Great timing,_ the Genin thought as he watched Naruto's face flash enraged, then annoyed and finally passive blankness.  
  
Iruka cleared his voice. "Alright, settle down, class." Surprisingly, the class _did_ settle down this once, because all of them were eager to find out which teams they were on and who their teammates would be. "The assignment for the teams will now be announced."  
  
Tipping his head to the side and staring at him with a dilated but unsurprisingly blasé gaze, the Uchiha waited for him to start.  
  
Iruka, however, found some difficulty in doing so, seeing as almost all of the class girls were glaring at Sasuke, while the rest of the class was staring as well… and it didn't help that Sasuke was staring at _him_ with the strangest expression he'd had all year long. Iruka found himself wondering if Sasuke was trying to emulate Naruto in the hopes that people would treat him like that treated the blond. It had his heart ache to think that Sasuke had given up his dream to be Hokage just because Naruto didn't want to be Hokage. Perhaps later he'd talk to the genin.  
  
Still emulating a person was one thing, displaying skills he had not previously had was another matter entirely.  
  
Taking a breath, he said, "Team 1 will consist of…"  
  
Sasuke conveniently tuned him out as Iruka rolled down the names. _At least my team isn't Team 15 or something, he thought dryly, because then I would have a long time to wait…_  
  
"Team 2… Team 3… Team 4… Team 5… Team 6…"  
  
_Finally._  
  
"Team 7 will consist of Namikaze Naruto, Haruno Sakura—" Namikaze? Odd.  
  
_"Yeah!"_ Sakura shouted in glee while the other girls in the class moaned.  
  
"—and Inuzuka Kiba."  
  
Sasuke jerked up in his seat as if he was struck by lightning. "Wha…" He couldn't believe it. With a dropping lurch in his stomach, he realized that— _How on earth could have been so utterly_ stupid?! —of course, the Graduating Exams counted towards his grade. So when he'd passed that last test, he'd… _changed the teams!_  
  
He couldn't speak. Words simply stuck in his throat. How on _earth?!_ So what had happened to Naruto in his world? How had the dobe passed? Back then he'd never thought to find out because it had been unimportant.  
  
"Team 8 will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke."

 _I… I'm in Yuuhi Kurenai's group?_ Sasuke realized, horrified. _This… This can't be!_ Taking deep breaths and ignoring the puzzled glance from Naruto, he tried to reassure himself. _This is just a dream. When I wake up, it'll all be fine. I'll forget about this strange dream and go back to being Orochimaru's pupil. It'll be fine…_  
  
Despite being an Uchiha he really didn't want to focus on genjutsu and with Hyuga Hinata no less. It would be the most un-talkative group in rotation. Shino never spoke unless he had to, the same with Sasuke and Hinata was so shy that she just didn't speak at all. Genjutsu v.s. Kakashi.  
  
On one hand he'd never had Yuuhi as a sensei before and it did open up some possibilities for him, but on the other hand he wanted Team 7. He didn't know why but he wanted it and he was going to fight for it. Dream or not.  
  
Though something—something nagging at the back of his mind—told him that this reality was far more than a dream.

* * *

He had to change the teams.  
  
It was only half an hour after the introductions and Sasuke was already feeling, say, utterly _doomed._ It wasn't that his teammates and his sensei, Kurenai- _sensei_ (he couldn't at all even think that title without sarcasm, because the last sensei he'd had had been a blundering pervert and horrible teacher), were bad, but simply put, it wasn't Team 7.  
  
Genjutsu v.s. insanely powerful yet lazy pervert. That month Sasuke had spent training with Kakashi had taught him a lot about the supposedly lazy jonin. Still …  
  
Kakashi was not his sensei now. Sakura and Naruto were not on his team, no matter how annoying he found them. Instead, he'd gotten some type of reconnaissance team, and he was not a reconnaissance type of person. He was more of an assassin-type of shinobi. Genjutsu and tracking meant that he had to hang back, stay low. That was not his style. Naruto had taught him way too much about hitting first and asking questions later, a most effective way of going about things.  
  
Oh yes, he was _doomed._  
  
Doomed to watch Team 7 go on without him and with Kiba; doomed to see them be the team that Kakashi had always wanted; doomed to see them move higher than him as a front line assault team. He was not Naruto. He was not what Kakashi would want and he knew that Kakashi had valued Naruto for his loud brashness even if he'd never said it. It was just in the way he'd sometimes stare at the blond … like he was seeing someone else.  
  
He tried not to care; he really did. Because he'd left that team—he'd made the choice to leave them behind for power. But still, something about those times always made him feel better, whether it was Kakashi's chronic tardiness, Naruto's rivalry, or Sakura's irascible attitude. They were his family. Naruto had made that clear to him at the Valley of the End and at the time it hadn't been enough. Now that he was denied them, suddenly what he'd thought was going to be a chore was the only thing he truly wanted.  
  
Team 8 was not Team 7. He would not be able to find that same sense of belonging here. Team 7 had been a ragtag bunch of misfits that had come to find comfort in each other's presence. Their differences were too glaring to ignore or wait out till this dream ended. Kurenai- _sensei_ was strict, far stricter than Kakashi ever was, and Shino was far too quiet. True, he himself was fairly quiet by nature, but compared to Shino he talked far more. Hinata was far too shy. She would blush and stammer whenever she was asked a question, and that irritated him. What was the use of being nervous if you were a ninja? Would enemy shinobi _ever_ take pity on you if you were fighting them?  
He supposed it was a good quality for a nurse or doctor, but that was it. Sakura's loud exclamations of devotions were so much more determined and spoke far more highly of a possible kunoichi in the making, if she could focus on the right things.  
  
He'd left the small meeting without saying a word. When asked for an introduction he'd grunted, earning himself surprised glances from all of his teammates, most especially his sensei. He'd left before he'd been dismissed with only the statement that an Inuzuka would be far more beneficial to the team than he would.  
  
Now, he was standing in the middle of the intersection between the main road and one of the smaller roads. The apartment was to his left, away from the centre of Konohagakure, but the Hokage's office was to the right. And if he seriously wanted to change the teams, he would have to ask the Hokage himself. Would he really be so daring?  
  
A dream was a dream so perhaps the murderous rage of the Hokage would somehow wake him from this reality.  
  
Tch. Being teammates with Naruto must have lowered his IQ somehow, he thought as he turned right. He was now willing trying to go back to the dobe … after running from him for so long.

* * *

"Is the Hokage free for a meeting right now?" Sasuke asked casually as he walked up to the secretary. The woman took one glance at him and nodded, tipping her head to motion for him to go in; then, she returned to her paperwork.  
  
Wary at being allowed entrance so easily, he walked slowly to the door. This could be a trick, so he had to be more careful. Quickly memorizing the escape routes as he glanced around, he stepped in front of the door and almost knocked.  
  
He jumped back as two Chuunin guards _shunshined_ into place. They also glanced at him with some sort of recognition, though the light in their eyes was more afraid and suspicious than calm, like the secretary's. "Uh, do you have business with Hokage-sama?" One asked. Odd. He'd never been regarded as such in the Hokage's office. Then again this place was just brim full of firsts for Sasuke.  
  
"Yes," Sasuke replied warily. He still wasn't so sure of these two.  
  
"I'm sorry," the other said. "We don't allow visitors at this time. Please come back another time."  
  
"But the secretary said I could go in."  
  
"Did she?" The first one asked disbelievingly, glancing at the other. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, knowing that he could take these two on but also realising that it probably wouldn't get him to see the Hokage in the way that he wanted.  
  
Well, technically she hadn't _said_ so, but it had definitely been there in the actions. It was almost as though she had wanted to get rid of him. "Yes," Sasuke said. "Besides," he leaned closer, "I'm an _Uchiha._ " This had always worked before, and it was the less troublesome path to go down.  
  
When in doubt, pull out the family name, even if he didn't really like to.  
  
The two glanced at each other, unsure, but then one said, "I'll go in and see if he's free."

* * *

"Sir, one of the Uchiha wishes to see you."  
  
"What? Which Uchiha?"  
  
"He didn't give his name, Hokage-sama."  
  
"Did he not give his name, or did you not ask him?"  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama."  
  
"That's better. Now what does he want to talk to me about?"  
  
"We don't know."  
  
"You didn't ask him about that, either?"  
  
"Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama."  
  
"I can't be interrupted right now. Tell him to come back later."  
  
"Hai, Hokage-sama."  
  
"… Wait, describe the Uchiha."  
  
"Aa... He has black hair and black eyes, a white shirt—"  
  
"Does he have a hitai-ate?"  
  
"Hai." The chunin wasn't sure how much difference that made, considering this was a ninja village.  
  
"A new one?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
"... Send him in."  
  
"Hokage-sama?"  
  
"I _said_ , send him in."  
  
"...Hai."

* * *

"Hokage-sama will see you now," the Chuunin said with a hint of confusion in his tone.  
  
Sasuke smirked. "Thanks," he said casually as he walked in. He didn't feel that the chunin deserved the thanks but he gave it anyway.  
  
The Hokage's office was well-lit and airy; in fact, it was so bright outside that he couldn't see the man's face against the sun. Instead, there was a black silhouette against the blue sky. Whenever he'd been in the Hokage's office, not that that had been many times, it had never been like this.  
  
However, bright or not, he could tell enough that this Hokage was not the Sandaime. And once again he was floundering in hot water. He had to tread carefully.  
  
The Hokage's hat was on the desk, looking almost as though it had been tossed there, and wild, spiky hair stuck up in all directions before falling gently at the sides. This man was also taller, and younger. Another difference was that piles upon piles of paperwork lay on the desk and on the  
floor. Although the Sandaime had never liked paperwork (what Hokage actually did?), he'd still gotten it done. Though now, it seemed that this man did none of it. Or he just simply didn't touch it till it obscured too much of the floor.  
  
He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light, and promptly gaped.  
  
Sapphire eyes sparkled at him. "Hey, Sasuke-kun. How are you?" Such familiarity? What? How? When? Even though he had never met the man, had never seen his face anywhere but on the Hokage monument, he knew exactly who it was but that still didn't help him.  
  
_The… Yondaime Hokage?!_  
  
Sasuke choked. "What," he managed to gasp out in his confusion, "Are _you_ doing here?"  
  
The blond man—apparently the Yondaime (that realization he accepted quickly enough, because if this was a dream where Naruto was dark and he was hated, the dead Hokage could definitely show up as well but apparently he needed to work on his reaction of surprise. He needed to squash it because this wasn't helping his 'get back onto Team 7' mission)—frowned at him. "Sasuke-kun, that's rude."  
  
The boy had the fleeting sense that someone had turned off the lights when that man had frowned. Just like Naruto, when the dobe frowned. Their smiles lit up the room, and their frowns darkened it. But nothing showed on his face as he muttered, "Not like it matters." He was supposed to not care about the dobe, to break his bond. Naruto was not supposed to mean anything more than someone who held him back from what he wanted.  
  
"What was that?" The man's frown deepened and Sasuke felt sure he was in an eclipse. A part of him was cowering under that frown, utterly mortified at having caused such a reaction at all.  
  
_Stop frowning,_ he wanted to shout. _Stop frowning. You're disrupting my thinking, because you look far too much like a certain someone I know, who apparently isn't himself anymore. Stop frowning so that the world will be ohkay again. Just stop frowning!_ Instead he said, "Nothing. Hokage-sama, I request to be switched from my team." To be safe, he bowed. He could take no risks with this unknown person, who was apparently a Hokage.  
  
"Eh?" The startled Yondaime exclaimed. Oh right, Naruto was never polite to the Hokage. Why would his dream-self be any different. But then what did his dream-self call the Hokage? Naruto had called the Sandaime 'Jiji'. The Yondaime wasn't exactly an old man.  
  
Sasuke risked taking a glance up at the blonde's face and read it easily, another trait he seemed to share with Naruto. It seemed that the request was not the only thing that surprised him. "What?" He asked, momentarily forgetting the manners his parents had drilled into him when he was young.  
  
Suddenly, the man began to chuckle, and then laugh straight-out. Sasuke resisted twitching his eyebrow. "It has to be something really, really serious for you to call me 'Hokage-sama'!"  
  
Sasuke did twitch his eyebrow. Why would calling a Hokage 'Hokage-sama' be unusual? Then again for Naruto it would be. For Naruto it would be the equivalent of a child looking lovingly at a parent and saying 'I love you' when what they were really saying was 'I'm buttering you up because I want something from you that you wouldn't normally give me'.  
  
"Don't you usually call me 'Minato-oyaji'?" Ah so now he knew what he was supposed to call the man. Still he couldn't bring himself to actually do so. It just went against everything he stood for … even if there was a part of him that found a childish sort of amusement at being able to call the  
Fourth Hokage that.  
  
"Why…" Sasuke asked with a tinge of indignation, pushing away his previous thoughts "Would I call you that?"  
  
The Yondaime—or _'Minato-oyaji'_ apparently—stopped laughing, settling for scrutinizing the Uchiha carefully. "Are you okay?" he asked gently after a moment. "Did something happen? Cause you know you can tell me anything right?"  
  
Sasuke stared at the Yondaime, confused. "Why would I be feeling sick?" he asked incredulously. Why did everyone think something had happened? Even Iruka's first reaction had been to ask if something had happened.  
  
"We-ell," drawled Minato-oyaji, "You address me as _Hokage,_ you ace the test—don't _try_ to deny it, I already talked with your sensei—and you are so _serious._ " He rolled his eyes. "Who _wouldn't_ think you're sick? You're never serious. Don't think I've forgotten about the orange paint explosion you rigged in my office. Orange is a nice colour and all but that was just _too_ much orange. Now that I'm thinking about it, you're not even wearing the colour anymore."  
  
"And what sickness would make someone skilled?" Sasuke shot back, still miffed at the idea of being sick. He _never_ got sick. He was also choosing to ignore everything else the Hokage had said. It was something Naruto would do, not him … but apparently in this world he was Naruto so it was sort of a moot point.  
  
The Yondaime sighed. "Were you perhaps … hiding it?" he asked as a glint of suspicion sparked to life in his eyes. Suddenly the laughing Hokage was gone, the concerned leader vanishing as though he'd never been there at all, replaced with a clearly experienced Shinobi, one that had earned the 'flee on sight' order in every bingo book from here to Kumo. To Sasuke's knowledge no one since then and no one before the Yondaime had ever managed to achieve that.  
  
Slightly apprehensive, Sasuke replied carefully. "Why would I want to do that?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know," the Hokage replied in a sing-song voice that didn't match his earlier expression. "Maybe you're a … spy, perhaps?"  
  
Blinking once, Sasuke felt the hairs on the back of his neck jump up. This man was deadly. _Of course he is,_ his common sense—which seemed to have disappeared a moment ago—shouted. _He's the Yondaime. What would you expect?_ And replying mentally, he shot back, _I don't know. It's not like I ever really knew the Sandaime, or the Godaime. And at that time, they seemed pretty harmless to me. Well they weren't giving me that look._  
  
He didn't say anything. He simply blinked back at the blond. When all else failed, say nothing.  
  
Unexpectedly, irritation seeped into the Hokage's previously careless demeanour. "You know I was just kidding with you," he said, frowning. Not the frown again. Stop frowning! Those blue eyes, they were too similar, too much like Naruto. Sasuke wanted to run in two different directions and that was confusing to say the least. One, as far away as possible and two, straight towards the Yondaime and right into his arms, as though they were old friends. It wasn't natural! Yet the urge was there.  
  
Sasuke didn't reply yet again. Biting his lip and reminding himself once again what the purpose of this visit _was,_ he took a breath (surprising himself, because he rarely needed to take a breath to calm himself; and yet, this man made him want to) and said, "I want to be changed from my team." Firmly, yet emotionlessly; without the use of titles so that earlier confusion wouldn't be repeated. The Yondaime's mood was constantly changing but Sasuke supposed he wasn't exactly helping  
matters.  
  
"What?" the Yondaime asked, surprised. "Is Kurenai really that bad?" The hint of a smile danced on his lips but there was also a strange hidden anger in his eyes that confused Sasuke.  
  
_He's probably thinking that I'm kidding._ Sasuke shook his head. "Kurenai-sensei and my teammates are fine, but I feel that I would be better able to function on a different team, such as Team 7. Team 8 is clearly a reconnaissance team, but I have no skills regarding that." It was a lie, but he fervently hoped it would not show. He needed to get to Team 7. "Team 7 is more of an allround team. I feel that Kiba, with Akamaru and his Inuzuka skills, would better suit Team 8."  
  
The man showed no expression during this whole explanation, and with bated breath Sasuke hoped that it would work. However the anger was gone from his eyes and instead replaced with an odd sort of relief. For a Hokage, he sure was easy to read … just like Naruto.  
  
"But… why?" the Yondaime asked, slightly confused.  
  
Staring at the Hokage, Sasuke asked himself if this was really a Kage. Hadn't he just explained everything? He blinked as he tried to process this question. It wasn't like he was asking Sasuke to repeat everything. It was more like he was trying to understand something.  
  
"You have never been one for logic and persuasion, Sasuke," the man continued. "but more for feelings. Why do you feel that you need to be on Team 7?"  
  
"Because I—" Sasuke stopped abruptly. He couldn't go over that whole speech again. It would be suspicious and he couldn't say why he really wanted to be on Team 7, that that was where he was before so it was the only place he'd accept now.  
  
Well, when in these situations, lying always worked for him, and what he was about to do made him want to die of mortification. And since logic wasn't working on the strange Hokage, it was time to get illogical …  
  
"Because—Because Sakura-chan's on that team and I really, really, _really_ want to be on her team! So I thought if I sounded all smart and everything like Naruto-teme then maybe you'd say yes!" he burst out. _I hope that worked. I am_ not _doing that again!_ He grit his teeth, jaw clamping together painfully. _I sounded like a total_ idiot!  
  
_No, correction. I sounded like Naruto._  
  
The Yondaime stared at Sasuke for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Fricken bipolar maniac! "Oh! I see now." Now gently smiling at him, he said, "Well, I guess I could pull a few strings… I'll let you know soon, 'kay?"  
  
Sasuke nodded, not daring himself to speak after that _humiliating_ event. And as quickly as he could, he turned around and left the room, leaving a befuddled Yondaime.  
  
_He didn't even say goodbye._ The Yondaime mentally sniffed.  
  
_Finally,_ he thought, scowling as he all but stomped down the steps of the Hokage's office. _I'm glad that's over! I'll never confess my 'love' for Sakura ever again!_  
  
His temper cooled off as he stepped onto the main street, though. At least he'd gotten what he'd come for—a switch in teams. Absentmindedly he wondered whether changing the teams on a whim like that was even possible—before remembering that that man, although he didn't look like it, was a Hokage.  
  
He walked down the street towards his apartment at leisurely pace. His fingers itched as they begged to take off his uncomfortable hitai-ate, but he resisted. This was Konoha, after all. Not Oto. He couldn't take it off—not yet. Besides he was going to continue cleaning that horrid apartment. He'd need the damn hitai-ate to keep his hair out of his face.  
  
The boy's mind idly wandered as his legs moved mechanically. It was as if he couldn't direct them, but that was fine, seeing how he didn't really have any place to go anyway. He'd spent the whole of yesterday cleaning the apartment—surely more cleaning could wait. Things were starting to move in places they shouldn't, like the washing pile, which just so happened to be everywhere.  
  
Besides, he had things to think about and walking was always nice.  
  
This was a dream, right? Simply a dream, albeit an unnaturally realistic one. Things that had happened in the past and things that hadn't… had happened. It wasn't true. This was a dream.  
  
Just a dream…  
  
Idly, he thought it would be nice if this were reality, and he could redo all of his Genin days with foreknowledge.  
  
And then scolded himself for thinking it.  
  
He'd made that choice long ago, and traitors didn't deserve second chances. He knew that. Had told himself that every time his mind wandered over to a certain blond dobe. Traitors couldn't undo what they did. They didn't get second chances.  
  
Did they?

* * *

Namikaze Minato was stunned. Absolutely and completely stunned. No, _stunned_ barely began to cover the emotions he was feeling.  
  
What on _earth_ had happened to Sasuke-kun? Had someone hurt him and they had all somehow missed it? He'd though Iruka's concerns had been slightly over exaggerated but this, this showed that they'd been highly understated.  
  
He sat back, utterly baffled as to whether he should get his ANBU to fetch the boy back and then question him for espionage. It was a horrifying thought, really. Was that boy actually replaced by a _spy?_  
  
It was the only thing that made any sense. But would a spy be so _blatant_ about his skill difference? No, unless the spy was horrible at spying … and in that case, why bother sending the spy? Sasuke-kun managed to completely stun Iruka, Mizuki, and his classmates by not only passing, but also effortlessly. Furthermore, he renounced his dreams and goals, and completely switched mindsets of energetic and happy to sullen and arrogant. Surely this could not be Sasuke-kun. Something had to have happened and should that something have been on the negative side, people were going to wish it hadn't happened at all. Minato would make sure of that.  
  
He'd gotten a report about a tomato stand incident but he'd dismissed it because he knew that Sasuke liked the things and at the time he'd been easily thrown to the ground by a civilian. Still … that might have only been shock on Sasuke part. For that matter why would Sasuke be shocked at all?  
  
Once again, he found himself thinking that this could not be the same boy.  
  
And yet, it was. The boy, although it was if he'd changed literally overnight, still held the same aura  
as Sasuke-kun had. Minato couldn't have been deceived—he was a Hokage for goodness' sakes!  
  
But that twinge of doubt kept nagging at him, and he frowned as another two questions entered his mind.  
  
_Why would Sasuke-kun ask to be switched from Team 8 to Team 7? Furthermore, how would he know Team 7 even passed? If he knew about Kakashi-kun, which he would know as a spy, he'd think that they didn't pass and therefore it would be pointless to be switched from Yuuhi's team to Kakashi-kun's. The man was notorious for having ridiculously high standards as well as a long list of failed students. If a spy wanted to get into the ranks of Konoha Shinobi, Kakashi-kun was definitely not the way to go about it._  
  
Signalling to one of the ANBU surreptitiously placed outside the window, Minato ordered, "Falcon, go after Uchiha Sasuke and bring him back here. He just left the building—he shouldn't have gone too far." He didn't want to do this but it was necessary.  
  
As the ANBU bowed and left the room with his teammates, Minato sighed, sat back, and took a good long look at the office. He really needed some new décor; paperwork just didn't seem to be the right theme.

* * *

Before Sasuke had even reached the intersection where he was supposed to turn, he knew ANBU were following. Three of them, to be precise, swiftly gaining on him. Their speed was nothing hard for him to match or even outrun, but the tricky part was finding a time to suddenly disappear.  
  
Walking faster, Sasuke surveyed his options. On one hand he could disappear, but on the other that was suspicious, something he did not want to appear to be right now.  
  
The main street was always densely packed with people, and almost always two or three pairs of eyes followed him—out of curiosity, he supposed, for their stares were anything but threatening—but still, they were watching him. They would undoubtedly alert the nearest Konoha Shinobi about his suspicious acts, if they acted according to the hatred he sensed from them. The thought of dancing in front of them with his hair dyed pink and his outfit bright green, flashed through his mind and he shuddered violently, banning the thought to the dark corners of his mind.  
  
He wondered mildly what he had done to deserve their hatred. Not that he _cared_ —because Uchiha Sasuke did not _care_ about others—if anything, he couldn't care less!  
  
It just disrupted his plans. That's all.  
  
The edge of his mouth twitched as he decided that his oblique reasoning was certainly hypocritical.  
  
Casually turning into an alleyway and walking to the end, Sasuke stopped, his gaze even and unsurprised by the three ANBU which appeared in front of him. Unconsciously his eyes rolled to the side, catching sight of the one ANBU at the entrance of the alleyway. Cocky, weren't they? They thought that he wouldn't be able to run.  
  
Naïve, _naïve_ fools. He could have outrun them any time he wanted from the moment of their chase.  
  
"What is it?" he demanded. "Why have you been tailing me?"  
  
The ANBU paused for a split second, undoubtedly from the startling realization that he'd _known_ about them for quite some time. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said—suddenly it was all formalness. "Hokage-sama wishes your presence."  
"Didn't I just leave there?" Sasuke's response was short and caustic. He didn't particularly want to go back and see the bi-polar maniac Hokage that was too darn much like Naruto but as the same time wasn't. "Don't bother me."  
  
"But Hokage-sama—"  
  
"I don't care what the Hokage says." Sasuke cut in, and he was sure the ANBU—along with his teammates—stared at him incredulously from behind their mask. "I'm tired." Well, that wasn't completely true. He was tired, but from this infuriating dream, not from the day's events.  
  
The ANBU paused for a lengthy time, and then uncharacteristically for a Shinobi and an ANBU at that, shook his head. "Look, Sasuke-kun," he said in a surprisingly young voice compared to his stiff and formal tone earlier, "We're not going to hurt you, okay? Yondaime-sama just wants to talk to you. It's not like you haven't done this before."  
  
Briefly Sasuke considered retorting that no, he hadn't done it before today, but his instincts screamed for him not to do it, and he generally trusted his instincts. Besides it would be foolish and pointless, something that would only garner more questions and a date with the T&I department. He'd never been one for dates.  
  
So instead, he settled for the stubborn look, crossing his arms. "You might not, but _he_ might." It was true—he was not so arrogant as to claim that he could defeat the legendary Yondaime Hokage, provided he was the same person. The thought of the Yondaime laying a harming hand on him made him want to puke but it was one of those alarmingly uncharacteristic thoughts of his, ones that he'd strangely been having all day.  
  
"Come on, Sasuke!" The ANBU laughed. (His easy manner was so unnerving that Sasuke desperately wanted to flee. His ninja instincts were _screaming_ at him, because ANBU—and if he suspected, the Hokage's personal ANBU—did not _easily laugh_.) "Stop being so guarded! You know very well that Hokage-sama _dotes_ on you. He'd never hurt you for the world!" Then he amended quietly, "Though he might joke around quite a bit…"  
  
Sasuke was quiet for a moment, and then asked, "What will you do if I don't go?"  
  
The ANBU rubbed his chin thoughtfully which looked strange considering he was wearing a mask. "Aa… Gag you, tie you up, and cart you off to the office, where we will most uncharitably dump you on the floor." He finished matter-of-factly.  
  
The boy blinked once. He didn't doubt the ANBU's words for a moment. He'd seen it happen to Naruto often enough. Still, he wasn't Naruto and he actually knew how to escape from ropes.  
  
"So come on!" The ANBU held out a hand grandly.  
  
And Sasuke found himself accepting the hand—but _only_ because this man reminded him of someone he knew in the far past. A part of him so desperately wanted to go back to the days which had been so carefree in the clan—  
  
_Can't go there,_ he reminded himself. Aloud, he spoke quietly, "You remind me of my cousin."  
  
Amidst the wind, however, the words were quickly blown away. "Huh? Did you say something?"  
  
"No," Sasuke shook his head. Some things were better left behind doors.  



	3. 【章三】

**Chapter 3**  
  
"What?" Sasuke snapped rudely as soon as he dropped down from the ANBU's back, whom had declared quite grandly that since Sasuke's excuse was exhaustion he would be humiliatingly carried into the Hokage's office, and that his little delay meant that they were behind schedule, making the ANBU look bad.  
  
His rude question wasn't the way to behave to a Hokage, but he decided that it was okay for him to because he'd unceremoniously been kidnapped (sort of) and dragged back to the office where the Yondaime—who apparently thought he needed to go the _hospital_ —was waiting to talk to him. Oh and that was usually the way Naruto talked to the Sandaime so it was bound to be alright. Aaaaaand he might have been slightly nervous, but only a little.  
  
He also had more chances to blow his cover and end up with the wrong sort of ANBU.  
  
Taking slight note of the _now_ uncharacteristically rude question, something he had expected when the boy had first walked in, the Yondaime motioned for the ANBU to leave and quietly watched them disappear. Using the slight moment to gather his thoughts, not that there was much of it, the Yondaime leaned back ever so slightly. Then, he sat forward and stared directly into Sasuke's eyes. It was intimidating beyond belief and Sasuke actually had to suppress the shiver it bought to life within him.  
  
The boy had never been so unnerved by a gaze before, but mustering all of his courage he repeated, "What?" in faltering confidence. He had never felt like this under Orochimaru's gaze. Was this why the blond made the better Hokage?  
  
"I want an explanation," the Yondaime began, his tone soft yet serious, not at all the cheerful laughter from before. _Please stop frowning!?_  
  
Sasuke cut in a bit too quickly—"An explanation? About what?" Che. This man was actually making him _anxious_ and making him flounder! He'd faced down Orochimaru for crying out loud! He spoke coolly to that snake all the time. Why couldn't he do so with the blond?  
  
"It's about your behaviour today and yesterday." The man continued after another hard, long look at him. "You've been acting strangely."  
  
"Didn't we already discuss this a few minutes ago?" Sasuke asked.  
  
"Yes," the Yondaime said, "but I never got the answers I wanted and you left before I could really ask." A deeper frown and Sasuke felt as though his entire world was crashing down around him.  
  
"I did answer you," Sasuke pointed out defensively. Sasuke was mentally mortified at the possibility of suddenly acting out childishly, but it was there bubbling under the surface and he couldn't stop it.  
  
"You did not."  
  
"Yes, I did."  
  
"Not the answers I _wanted._ All you gave me were excuses Sasuke. They weren't real answers," replied the other, and the argument was over. Sighing, the Yondaime ran a hand through his long blond hair. "You're more serious, you haven't played a prank since the day before yesterday –makes the paperwork less but it's still worrying in that of itself–, you want to be on Team 7 which you're not even sure will pass Kakashi-kun's test, you treat me with respect—"  
  
"Why wouldn't I treat the Hokage with respect? Any Shinobi should. And besides Hatake-san is the best jonin in the village, anyone knows that." Sasuke countered.  
  
"Let me finish," the Yondaime said sternly, and then continued. "You were surprised at seeing me, although you saw me just the day before the exam, which—by the way—you passed with uncharacteristic ease, even the bunshin no jutsu." He sat back. "I can go on, if you'd like. For example cleaning out your apartment, but I think that list sums everything up. You can imagine why I don't think you are who you are supposed to be."  
  
"Aa," Sasuke muttered as he averted his eyes. He _wasn't_ who the he was supposed to be but he couldn't very well tell them that now could he? They'd never believe him. So what was he supposed to say?  
  
"No eye contact," the Yondaime noted aloud. "You want to hide something." Did saying it out loud make it better for the blond or for Sasuke?  
  
Startled, Sasuke snapped his—hopefully apathetic—gaze back to the man, but said nothing. He forced his gaze to remain on the Yondaime, willing his eyebrow not to twitch.  
  
"Which of those do you want to explain first?" the Yondaime sat back in his chair and laced his fingers together, blue eyes holding a pain that Sasuke could never hope to understand as well as a sort of breathless anticipation. He was worried about what Sasuke might say.  
  
Though he knew it wasn't the time to do so, Sasuke smiled humourlessly. "And I suppose I won't be able to get out of it?" he asked with the knowledge that it was a rhetorical question. He had a feeling that, like a certain other blonde he knew too well, this man would not stop until he got answers. He was just far quieter at it.  
  
"Right," the Yondaime said.  
  
"What would you do if I told you that I'm not the twelve year old genin you see in front of you? That I'm not the Sasuke you know. In fact I'm a sixteen year old student of Orochimaru's and I became said student after nearly killing Naruto and ditching Konoha all in an attempt to gain enough power to kill my brother for killing my clan and betraying Konoha and the Uchiha name?" Sasuke stated all in a rush, somehow being compelled to tell the truth when being pinned with those blue eyes and faced with that disapproving frown. Immediately he wanted to smack his forehead but stood ramrod straight instead.  
  
"Ha. Ha." The Yondaime deadpanned, eyes narrowing. "Very funny Sasuke." There wasn't any amusement in his tone. "I suppose we can knock off not playing any pranks from that list. Seriously though, I want an honest explanation this time."  
  
Sasuke drew his lips tight. He would have to create a fabricated yet believable lie. They would never believe that truth unless a Yamanaka was let inside his head and he really didn't want that. "Okay," he said. "You got me. I'll spill everything." _As if._  
  
"So you aren't Uchiha Sasuke?"  
  
"No, I am," Sasuke quickly affirmed. If he said he was a spy… he shuddered to think of the  
consequences. "It's just… I've been…" his face screwed up. "Hiding stuff," he said lamely, scratching the back of his head sheepishly—on purpose. If he acted like the stupid boy the Hokage apparently thought he was everything would become easier. More would be able to slip under the radar. Since apparently, telling the truth wasn't working, not that he really thought it would.  
  
"Hiding stuff?" the Hokage echoed incredulously. "Sasuke, or whoever you are, I'm sure you'll understand my suspicions remain until some proof appears. I think you have more to say than that. Hiding _stuff_ barely begins to cover what you apparently have hidden."  
  
The Hokage was suspicious of him. Perfect, the boy thought sarcastically. Retaining the sheepish face, he continued. "I mean, uh, you know… You know how the villagers treat me, right?" he asked, hoping that the rude behaviour from them had not just been anything short-lived. Naruto's certainly wasn't. His hopes were affirmed when the Yondaime nodded. "It's just that… I've known how to do a lot of things for a while now, but it's not like I can show it, because… wouldn't that make them more suspicious?"  
  
"True," the man agreed, "but how did you learn all of that?"  
  
_Uh._ It was harder to make up a lie than what he originally thought. But he was a ninja. He could do this."There was a visiting merchant a while ago, remember, ne?" _This is not going to work! I don't even know whether a visiting merchant visited Konoha in the days that I've been here!_  
  
"I think I remember…" the Yondaime trailed off, suspicious eyes unrelenting and unbelieving.  
  
Sasuke jumped at the opportunity. And besides, taking his training with Orochimaru into account he wasn't technically lying. "Yeah, well he uh, kinda' wasn't really a merchant, you know? And uh—"  
  
The other held up a hand. "I get the point," he said, "but how he did this without anyone knowing and how much you know are questions unanswered."  
  
The boy paused for a split second, and then said, "The merchant was pretty advanced. He made this sorta' bunshin but it wasn't really, 'cause it was all solid an—"  
  
"It was _solid?"_ the Yondaime interjected sternly.  
  
He nodded once. "It was really cool… uh, and it replaced me —which is half the reason I sucked in the Academy so much since it wasn't really me but the clone me— while we went to train someplace where the ANBU weren't…"  
  
No reaction.  
  
Sasuke continued. "I don't know that much," he rushed out, "because he only taught me random jutsu and skills…" he trailed off.  
  
"So you're saying, in essence," the Yondaime frowned, "that you were training under this 'visiting merchant' for a while, during which you learned what, B-, A-ranking skills and possibly jutsu? And your speed increased from almost nothing to the level of an ANBU's? Furthermore, your attitude changed _completely?"_ A wry and knowing smile spread halfway on his face. "That just doesn't sound logical, does it?" Sasuke didn't think he'd displayed that many skills over the past two days, had he? Perhaps it was such an unconscious action on his part that he didn't even know he was doing it. He was going to have to be careful from now on.  
  
"No, I suppose it doesn't," Sasuke agreed. "Fine. IwantedtobelikeNaruto." Sasuke had decided  
that the merchant story would only get him so far and it really only explained half of the 'changes' "As for my trainer. I had training under a visiting merchant for say, a couple of months? During which I became up-to-par with my peers at the Academy. I also increased my speed drastically—" he wanted to say, _And it's not my fault if the ANBU are slow. They're slacking behind if you ask me and they were underestimating me, but didn't_ — "or actually, that was practically the only thing we worked on, since my sensei was particularly concerned about speed. Said something about running away from the enemies I wasn't strong enough to defeat. He also said something about being too thick headed to realise when it was smarter to actually run away but I guess he had a point so I took it upon myself to hit the books. I did learn some jutsu, but nothing above C-ranked."  
  
"And why would he teach you?" the Yondaime asked, still sceptical and ignoring the question for now. "And for that matter what was it that you said earlier?"  
  
"I don't know," Sasuke replied with a careless shrug. "Because I'm interesting? He said he liked me? Why does any ninja teach another? And I said I wanted to be like Naruto. _(*Cringe*)_ He's always so moody and serious and stuff but everyone and I mean everyone still likes him so I thought that maybe if I acted like him then they wouldn't look at me with those eyes anymore." He'd heard Naruto refer to the looks he was getting as 'those eyes' once. He'd muttered it under his breath and at the time Sasuke had pretended not to hear him.  
  
"Aa … But I'm sure you'll understand if I still can't completely trust you and I'll have to check your story." There was a new kind of pain in the Yondaime's eyes, regret or maybe guilt.  
  
Sasuke nodded once. "Have all the surveillance you want. Just allow me to continue doing things the way I have been doing, since it's only been two days I don't know if it's working yet."  
  
The Yondaime frowned. "You know I can't do that," he said. _What was wrong with acting like Naruto, well this dream-Naruto anyway? And frowning already!_  
  
"I know," Sasuke replied off-handedly, "but you're the Hokage, aren't you? Can't you make an exception?"  
  
"Why would I want to make an exception?" Ouch.  
  
"Do you want to arouse the suspicion of the villagers, my fellow Shinobi and my team —whichever one that might end up being with a full on and unnecessary investigation?" Sasuke shot back.  
  
There was a slight pause. "I suppose I could," the Yondaime murmured. "All right, Uchiha Sasuke. You are allowed to continue being a Shinobi. I will furthermore transfer you to Hatake Kakashi's team." _Better to watch you …_ was the unspoken term.  
  
Sasuke tilted his head to the side as he processed everything that had been said. He nodded his head in acceptance once before asking, "Permission to leave?"  
  
"Yes, you may leave now." It almost physically hurt to have those eyes pinned to him, those eyes that were filled with so many things, like concern, worry, guilt … suspicion.  
  
The door clicked shut as Sasuke let himself out of the room, and Minato immediately motioned to the ANBU outside his window. "Bird!" he snapped. "Follow Uchiha Sasuke with your squad! At _any_ sign of betrayal or suspicion, capture the target and take him to the interrogation chamber with Ibiki. _Go!"_ He paused once, and then added quickly, "And tell Hatake Kakashi the changes in the genin teams and to watch him carefully, will you? Also, please inform Yuuhi of the genin change as well."  
  
The ANBU nodded and disappeared with a puff of smoke and Minato let out a sharp breath as he  
leaned back. That conversation—or interview, more like—had scared the _wits_ out of him. It took a lot to scare him, but the possibility of the Kyuubi inside Sasuke being taken and somehow taken advantage of and a spy replacing him did. Sasuke's story was believable, but not completely. There were a few suspicious holes which Minato would have to check into. He didn't want to have to do it, but it was necessary. For the safety of both his village and the Uchiha boy.  
  
He didn't believe that a merchant had trained Sasuke. Not for a moment. There was more to this than what the boy was willing to admit to. But that part about Naruto, that was almost breaking his heart. If the boy believed that it was Naruto's attitude that attracted the people to him, then he was going to be in for a lot more pain and suffering but he seemed to be set on that course of action.  
  
He sighed wearily. Well he hoped it ran its course soon. All he could really do was wait and be there to catch the pieces as he'd always done for the boy before.  
  
Strangely enough, the only time Minato had felt that Sasuke was speaking the truth was when he'd spun that ludicrous tale of being a 16 year old student of Orochimaru's. There was just no way it could be true. There were too many time and space impossibilities involved and he was berating himself for even considering the possibility of the story being true.  
  
But that conversation—Minato had truly felt like he was talking to a fully-fledged adult, not a twelve-year-old fledgling. Every question was met with a semi believable answer and in the ninja world that was as good as any answer got. After all, some things were meant to be impossible but they did it every day. So possible or impossible were merely points of perception when it came to being Shinobi. Sasuke's new turn of behaviour completely baffled the Yondaime—what could that _'merchant'_ have _done_ to him to make him that way, if his story was true?  
  
He wished he knew what truly happened to the Sasuke he knew. He missed the carefree laugh.

* * *

It didn't take long for Sasuke to notice that ANBU were following him again. He supposed it was logical, but that didn't seem to ease his annoyance. Back in Sound, no one would have _dared_ to follow—or should he say stalk?—him, the favourite pet of Orochimaru and the most powerful one (Kabuto came pretty close) but here, it seemed that pesky ANBU did all the time.  
  
Still, he had said to the Yondaime that he could put surveillance on him.  
  
Resisting his sudden urge to kill or cause bodily harm to those Shinobi (In his current state he wasn't even entirely sure if he could because he definitely wasn't as strong as he'd been before coming here or ending up in this dream world reality place so that meant he was going to have to train), Sasuke walked down the main road. People were staring at him again, but he couldn't have cared less about them, as those _ANBU_ were more of his main concern—Che. He shouldn't have to think about those things. They were undoubtedly there to watch his behaviour for suspicious _anythings,_ and by thinking about them, he would then betray the fact that he knew they were there, and that in itself would be suspicious, earning him a one-way ticket to Ibiki's interrogation office.  
  
Besides, what the hell was he supposed to do when he needed to use the bathroom?  
  
It was hardly too presumptuous to say that he could easily deceive these ANBU and flee, at his current strength. He could try but that was a slightly too risky move for the moment. Besides, he didn't feel like it.  
  
_Not feeling_ like doing anything Shinobi-related had never been in his mind before, but he inexplicably _did_ at this moment. Well not really Shinobi related per say but more like anything at all actually.  
  
Nevermind that now. This was- it was a dream, wasn't it? All of this?  
  
Sasuke didn't know the answer to that anymore. On one hand, it would be preposterous to think that all of this could be happening, but on the other hand, why did everything feel so _real,_ and would his dull, unimaginative mind actually be able to create such a fantasy? Of course not. Any fantasy he allowed his mind to entertain would inevitably involve the death of his brother. So no, this wasn't his imagination.  
  
Moreover, the Uchiha clan wasn't exactly credited on their imaginations, just their battle prowess. Did genjutsu take imagination?  
  
Nor on their dreaming. Sasuke scoffed; _Uchihas_ did not dream of worlds that weren't theirs.  
  
Their attention was not, and could not, be wasted on such irrelevant things such as dreams. They were imbedded into reality like no other clan ever would be due to their accursed eyes. The Uchiha saw the fact of a matter before anyone else ever did. So no, dreams were not—  
  
Sasuke stopped abruptly. He'd just passed a street.  
  
The street that led into the Uchiha clan district.  
  
_Wasn't that street supposed to be empty?_  
  
He felt his heart thud loudly, and heard the quick breath that escaped his lips. But he didn't move. Red flushed his mind; and his first thought was, _Who are the idiots that dare invade the Uchiha clan district?_  
  
But as he stared down the wide, bustling street that he'd walked down so many times as a kid, he realized with alarm and disbelief that they were _Uchihas_ who were in that street.  
  
Uchihas. _Plural._ Now that chunin he'd been faced with before seeing the Yondaime made a lot more sense, but this still didn't make any sense at all.  
  
Slack-jawed and wide-eyed, Sasuke stared at the many people talking, selling, walking, whatever. There were—how could he have forgotten their names? Oh, Akito-san, tending her geraniums as she'd done many years ago. His cousin, Tetsuo—and Daichi, her brother—and even that brat Miyuki, who thought she was better than anyone else, were welcome sights.  
  
It just mattered that they were alive. That's all that mattered.  
  
_But if they are alive… then otou-san and okaa-san… are also—_  
  
A lump in his throat formed, but he ignored it, bursting into full speed down the street as the hope swelled inside him. His old house— _down this road, to the right, across the road—this road now, this way—I almost didn't recognize it now that there are people on it—_  
  
He never noticed the stares in his direction and the hostile air, but even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. His thoughts remained focused on one thing.  
  
_Right here!_  
  
His house was in front of him, looking every bit as majestic as it had been before _that_ happened. He noticed lights in the windows, and realized that even such a minor thing such as that comforted himself. It'd been a long since he'd seen lit lights in there from the outside. So many nights had been spent just sitting right here, in the street, staring into dark broken windows, not even daring to enter the house.  
Now Sasuke could hardly run fast enough down the path, to the door—  
  
The image of a dark-haired man sprung to his mind, and his hand froze a few inches from the doorknob. If everyone was alive, that meant… _he_ … was also here. In this very house before him.  
  
He was at a crossroad. Should he go in and greet his mother and father and risk seeing Itachi, or not go in and—  
  
And what?  
  
Avoid his own family?  
  
Perhaps Itachi was once again on one of his many missions. Forgetting or completely ignoring the fact that this was supposed to be nothing but a dream Sasuke grasped the doorknob firmly and turned it. The door creaked its familiar welcome, and he stepped inside, eagerly drinking in its old smell, sounds, sights—oh, the sudden relief of comfort!  
  
But there, in the corners of his mind, something dark and sinister bubbled, threatening to overwhelm him. Images of Shinobi in the shadows standing over crumpled, once proud forms. Blood pooling on the floor and moving ever so slowly towards him. His breath quickened from something other than anticipation, as he found himself drowning in sensations and thought he no longer wished to see but could not stop.  
  
"Itachi?"  
  
It was his mother, washing over him like a soothing balm and helping to move the darkness away from his mind. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to enjoy the peace that was settling over him.  
  
"Itachi, is that you? You're home early—"  
  
She stepped out into the foyer and paled at the sight of Sasuke, dropping the dish she was drying. It let out a shriek of shattering as it crashed on the floor, sending shattered pieces everywhere. She wasn't smiling. She wasn't laughing. She was staring at him with horror.  
  
Sasuke froze. What should he do? She looked so pale that—"Okaa-san, are you okay?" he asked.  
  
She didn't answer for a moment. Her eyes were wide and disbelief shone in them clearly. "What… What are you doing here, Sasuke?" she asked in a shaky, uneven breath.  
  
"What?" Had he just heard that? "I'm—I'm—" he couldn't find an answer. He felt the air leave his lungs as though he'd been punched. What would he say? _You've been dead for how many years, and all I want is to see you, so why are you asking what I'm doing here?!_  
  
"You shouldn't—You shouldn't be here," Mikoto cut him off. "Your otou-san or Itachi will be back soon and—"  
  
"I don't care!" Sasuke interrupted. "I don't care." He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her. He couldn't stop himself. He had to know she was real, to know that she was really there and not just some sick torment of his twisted imagination. She wasn't. She was warm and soft and she smelled just as he remembered. She was _home._ "I missed you, okaa-san," he whispered.  
  
She did not respond, and stiffened as if—as if he hurt her?  
  
He released her and asked confusedly, "What is it? What's wrong? Have I—"  
  
"Get out, Sasuke. Please," she pleaded. "Before your otou-san comes back."  
"Why? I'm not scared—"  
  
"What are you doing, you monster?"  
  
Sasuke whirled around to face his father, even stonier-faced than he'd remembered. "I'm saying hello to my okaa-san. Is that wrong?" he asked defiantly.  
  
"You do not belong here anymore. Get out."  
  
"I am Uchiha. I belong in the Uchiha compound."  
  
Fugaku's features froze. "You are a monster before you are Uchiha," he hissed with narrowed eyes, eyes that had never been directed at Sasuke before in his life, "and I don't want you to ever call yourself Uchiha again! You don't _deserve_ it."  
  
"If a newborn is called Uchiha simply because they were born into the clan, how can I, the son of the head himself, not _deserve_ clanship?" Sasuke shot back. He was really cursing his ignorance of this reality now.  
  
"Because you are Ky—"  
  
"Fugaku!" Mikoto cried.  
  
The man paused. "Because you are no longer my son," he amended but it was too late. Sasuke had at least some idea as to what he'd been about to say. Still, what he'd ended up saying was something far worse to the Uchiha. All the stares meant nothing until they were in the eyes of those he loved so dearly.  
  
The blow was sickening. "What…?" Sasuke whispered. He had been scolded harshly before, but for his father to go as far as disowning him? What on earth had he even done to deserve that?  
  
"You forgot already? Typical of the runt, once again showing just what a disappointment you are even without taking what you are into account." Fugaku sneered. "You were no longer Uchiha the day you left the clan!"  
  
"I—" _I didn't leave the clan. I didn't. Why would I do that? Why are they acting this way? Why?_ Sasuke gulped and backed up, trying to process what was happening. He finally had his family but he wasn't allowed to see them?!  
  
This was worse than watching their deaths. This was the ultimate torture. He'd worked so hard to avenge them and they — hated him.  
  
His back hit the wall but it didn't register in his mind. He couldn't believe this was happening. His okaa-san wouldn't look at him and if she allowed herself a glance, as though morbidly obliged to, all Sasuke saw was fear. She was afraid of _him,_ her own son.  
  
Broken memories stuttered within his mind, pieces of something that made no sense. An overwhelming urge to throw up made him fall to his knees, gasping for air in the hopes to keep his breakfast down. Rage, so much blind rage. What was this? Shouts of panic but too broken and distorted to even understand. Where was this coming from? What was happening?  
  
Sasuke clutched at his hair as he tried to banish the images from his mind. But they wouldn't leave. They kept on going, over and over with the same broken confusion, the same blinding rage, _the urge to kill._  
  
Betrayal. A sickly thing that clung to the memories like a bad taste in his mouth. What was this!?  
Arms wrapped around him, forcing his head between his knees. He was hyperventilating.  
  
"Breathe Sasuke." A familiar voice whispered into his ear almost frantically.  
  
Sasuke thought the advice was ludicrous. He was breathing!  
  
"Slowly Sasuke. Everything is alright. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you."  
  
Anger leaked from the images in his mind over to him. He lashed out at the voice but found himself pinned to the floor, arms held down at his sides.  
  
"No!" Sasuke yelled as new images began to blend in with the rage and bloodlust. Itachi, the Uchiha. His broken and defeated parents. The blood. So much blood.  
  
"Make it stop." Sasuke sobbed brokenly, both appalled at his behaviour and desperate for relief.  
  
"Sasuke, calm down, stop struggling." Sasuke froze immediately. He hadn't even realised that he had been struggling at all. "No Sasuke." He was immediately scolded, "Not like that. You need to relax your muscles. Come on they teach this at the Academy."  
  
The voice, it was helping. It was helping to focus the young Uchiha, to bring him out of the downward spiral of chilling images. So instead he focused on the voice, focused on what was being asked of him. This was something he could do.  
  
"Please don't stop talking." Sasuke whispered, taking deep gulps of air, trying to slow down, trying to relax and fighting the urge to break free and fight his way out. Out of what he wasn't entirely sure though.  
  
"Huh? Oh is it helping? Well okay then. You know Sasuke I don't know what's going on with you but I sure hope it's not permanent. Hokage-sama doesn't like it."  
  
"Now I remember. You're Shisui. The first one that Itachi …" Sasuke didn't finish. He'd chosen to ignore the words that Shisui spoke earlier. It was just nice to know that it was Shisui. He'd always liked his older cousin.  
  
"How did you–? Never mind. Just don't go telling everybody. ANBU identities are supposed to be secrets. What did you mean about Itachi? The first one what?" Shisui was beginning to sound exasperated.  
  
Sasuke closed his eyes, eyes that had previously been staring at his parent's feet, watching as his father tried to usher his mother away, out the room … away from him.  
  
_The first one that Itachi had killed._  
  
"Sasuke, you're not helping your case. You shouldn't even be here." Shisui clucked his tongue impatiently, the noise sounding weird coming from behind his ANBU mask.  
  
"Why, why am I not an Uchiha?" Sasuke asked, still keeping his eyes closed. His breathing was finally beginning to calm down, his racing heart starting to even out. The images in his mind were almost gone now, the rage he had felt fading with them. All that was left was weariness, weariness and betrayal but a betrayal he couldn't connect to anything.  
  
"You left Sasuke. I know your memory is not that bad." Shisui tone was softer now, pitying and Sasuke's annoyance spiked.  
  
"I'm fine now, you can let go." Sasuke's voice had reverted back to the cold toneless-ness from  
before coming home. He had a lot to think about, a lot to sort out but being pinned to the floor with the blood circulation being disrupted to his limbs was not helping him, and for that matter neither was the interrogation.  
  
He was an Uchiha. He was Uchiha Sasuke and he should not have lost control like that. It was time to retreat, to look at the situation and then continue from there. One thing was clear. He was not welcome here and something had happened. He'd have to find out what though. But for now he needed to be the cool calm Uchiha. He needed to be the Avenger, even if for now, he had nothing to avenge.  
  
Gloved hands released him reluctantly and Sasuke got to his feet. An image of his brother suddenly came to mind, of the proud and powerful Itachi falling to his knees before his accusers and asking for forgiveness for his behaviour, a forgiveness he had never meant. The only time Itachi had ever told the truth was when he had lashed out, lost control in a manner that was most unlike Itachi. But Sasuke understood, only now that time had passed. Still, the action had placated the Uchiha, made them believe what they wanted as they only saw what they wanted to see. Itachi's words that day were starting to make a little more sense.  
  
So Sasuke did the same. He allowed his body to fall to the ground, his knees impacting with the wooden floors harshly. He pressed his knuckles against the floors he knew so well from childhood and bowed his head to his father, mirroring Itachi's exact posture from so many years before, before he stated in much the same tone that Itachi had. "Forgive me, _Uchiha-san._ I have not been myself lately. I'll see to it that this incident does not happen again."  
  
Then he got back to his feet and walked to the door, not even glancing back at his parents. "What happened to him? He's nothing like before he left." Mikoto asked a startled Shisui.  
  
"We don't know." Was all Shisui replied with but Sasuke didn't care. He'd heard his mother's tone and it was not the concern of a parent. It was the fear of a stranger.  
  
They may look like his family, but they were not _his_ family. _His_ family had died that night Itachi had killed them. So Sasuke did the one thing he had been fighting with himself not to do the second Shisui had released him.  
  
He ran.

* * *

Back in the apartment, Sasuke stared at himself in the mirror. Monster. Demon. Why were people calling him this? What had he done to deserve this? Why had he chosen to leave the Uchiha clan? So many questions and no legal ways to get the answers without becoming suspicious. How would the Hokage react to that morning's incident at the Uchiha compound? He'd be told, that was certain. Still, what had he done to make his mother fear him so much?  
  
Here, he was apparently still in the Academy, a dobe at that,—and he couldn't remember anything in the Academy that he did strangely, but in this wacky world and twisted reality, anything could happen.  
  
Monster.  
  
Demon.  
  
His brow furrowed. Wasn't that what people called Naruto? And he certainly wasn't Naruto. But he had been thrust into the role of Naruto ever since he arrived here.  
  
But those two words… Naruto had something which caused people to call him that—the ninetailed demon fox, Kyuubi. And Sasuke _certainly_ did not—

_Did not what?_ His mind cackled. _Did not what? Did not have Kyuubi? You fool!_  
  
Sasuke felt an ominous shiver skitter up his back. He lifted his shirt. Nothing there.  
  
"See?" He told himself. "There's nothing there. Nothing—"  
  
_And you call yourself smart? Look harder, dimwit!_ He was really starting to wonder if that voice truly was his own mind, or perhaps something else.  
  
"Fine. If you're so insistent." He activated the Sharingan, and again, nothing was there. "See? I don't have the Kyuubi."  
  
_Heh. One last way which you've been avoiding._  
  
"I haven't been—"  
  
But he had.  
  
He channelled chakra to the center of his stomach, and for a split second, he felt triumph as nothing happened—but suddenly a great black intricate spiral seal shimmered into view.  
  
Sasuke sharply inhaled. No, no way, _no—_  
  
What the—?  
  
_He had the Kyuubi!_

* * *

"Hokage-sama." Shisui greeted with a bow.  
  
"Yes, Shisui?" Minato asked with a slight frown. The Uchiha before him was not wearing his ANBU mask, meaning he was here in his free time, something he didn't get a lot of so this had to be important.  
  
"It's about Sasuke-kun, Hokage-sama. He went to the Uchiha Compound today. It was like he couldn't remember a thing about that incident. I'd even go so far as to say it was almost like he was surprised to see the Uchiha there at all." Shisui's reports were always direct and to the point. Having been the Hokage's personal ANBU guard for some time now, the Uchiha understood just how little time Minato really had.  
  
Minato frowned, Sasuke's earlier words flashing through his mind. But that was a ludicrous idea, impossible. He squeezed his eyes shut before sighing. "Just keep watching Shisui, just keep watching him."

* * *

_Cold._  
  
He felt cold.  
  
_Numb._  
  
He felt that, too.  
  
The sun had already sunk beneath the edges of the earth and Sasuke was still idly skipping rocks over a pond.  
  
Like he had been doing for the last few hours.  
  
He supposed he should have known; after all, he had known for quite some time about Naruto's  
tenant- and since he and the blonde had switched places, it was only logical that he would have the Kyuubi too.  
  
But his thoughts still lay in disbelief.  
  
He skipped another rock across the pond.  
  
_I..._  
  
 _The Kyuubi..._  
  
Another rock.  
  
_Is everything switched in this world?_  
  
 _Will I be as loud and hyperactive as Naruto was?_  
  
 _Will I love ramen as much as Naruto did?_  
  
 _Will I start to act just like Naruto?_  
  
 _Will I start to remember things from this world, like at the Uchiha compound?_  
  
 _Will I love the colour orange?_  
  
Sasuke shuddered. Himself in orange?  
  
Scary, scary thought.  
  
Another rock.  
  
But his thoughts turned to his friend:  
  
_Will Naruto leave?_  
  
 _Will Naruto join Orochimaru?_  
  
 _Will he..._  
  
His hand froze before skipping another rock.  
  
_...kill me?_  
  
Sasuke's eyes glazed in memories.  
  
And absentmindedly, he wondered how much longer he could hold everything in, how much longer he could keep it all together. He didn't think he'd be able to keep his calm façade up if this continued for much longer.

* * *

-the next day  
  
Hatake Kakashi was not happy.  
  
He wondered why he kept testing Genin teams, year after year. He had tested so many all of these years, and each of them decided that it was better to save themselves instead of working together. So why did he keep on testing?  
  
Perhaps it was the Obito part of him.  
  
Or perhaps it was the other Jonins- as well as the Yondaime- insisting his participation every year.  
  
And he couldn't always say no.  
  
"Kakashi-kun, aren't you going to meet your team?"  
  
He turned his head towards the voice, identifying the speaker as his smiling sensei.  
  
Kakashi shook his head in annoyance. "I still can't believe you managed to persuade me to do this..."

* * *

Only three people still remained in the classroom and, needless to say, they were bored.  
  
"Why isn't our sensei here yet?!" Sakura whined, kicking at the ground.  
  
"It's only been five minutes. Stop whining." Naruto said, obviously annoyed. They had been called back to the Academy and had been told about a last minute team switch on the request of the Hokage. Naruto saw who his teammate was being replaced with and scowled. The Yondaime's favourite. Typical.  
  
He still didn't understand why his father paid so much attention to the dobe.  
  
"Anything for you, Naruto-kun!" Sakura chirped sweetly, her mood changing dramatically.  
  
Sasuke resisted the urge to raise his eyebrow in confusion. She hadn't been this expressive and submissive for that matter in the past timeline; had he changed her already? Then again, he'd more likely than not, ignored her rather than told her to shut up.  
  
But he shrugged it off; he didn't care as much about Sakura's new behaviour as much as he did Naruto's.  
  
Speaking of the dobe...  
  
Sasuke turned his head slightly to stare at the boy, who was, again, sitting with his fingers laced beneath his chin. Mentally, the Uchiha sighed. _I have to get closer to him. As far as he's concerned, I'm just a burden._  
  
"Hey, Sasuke?"  
  
He jerked his head towards the voice, surprised, though his indifferent expression still held on his face.  
  
It was Sakura, her face mixed in confusion and irritation. "Why are you on Team 7, anyway? I thought Kiba was in in our team instead of you."  
  
Sasuke shrugged. "I convinced Hokage-sama to switch the teams."  
  
"Oh? Why was that?" Sakura narrowed her eyes suspiciously, her hands placed intimidatingly on her hips. Was this seriously what Naruto had had to deal with all the fricken time? And he'd still wanted to date the crazy kunoichi.  
  
Sasuke thought quickly. A crush, the Yondaime had said something about a crush on Sakura. Now, how could he express that in Naruto-speak? "I didn't want to be separated from you, Sakurachan!" He burst out, very Naruto-like.  
He was rewarded with a slap on the cheek. "I would've preferred Kiba over you, Sasuke-baka!"  
  
It was a strange experience; he had never been slapped so openly before, much less from Sakura. She had always had a lingering crush on him, and would have never thought of slapping him.  
  
It stung.  
  
Hard.  
  
He once again briefly wondered how Naruto had even managed to have a crush on the girl and in that moment decided to drop the 'I want to be on Team 7 because of Sakura' act then and there.  
  
"Sakura-chan, you didn't have to do that..." Sasuke managed to whine. It felt so strange; he had never really _whined_ before, and hoped he wouldn't have to do so again on another occasion.  
  
"I don't like you, Sasuke, so _bug off!"_  
  
"But Sakura-chaaann..." Now he was really pushing his own patience.  
  
The tirade was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. All three heads turned quickly to the door, and there, looking surprisingly cold, was a tall, silver-haired Jonin.  
  
_Kakashi-sensei_ , Sasuke thought silently. _Too bad I didn't try to pull a prank on him._ The thought surprised Sasuke but he shoved it to the side.  
  
Sakura was furious with her new sensei. "Why are you so late?! And especially on the first-"  
  
The Jonin cut her off. "Meet me on the rooftop in ten minutes." He narrowed his eyes. "Don't be late." And as quickly as he had arrived, he was gone.  
  
Sasuke blinked. _Why is Kakashi-sensei so cold? Did something happen?_ Then he smirked. _Or has the Yondaime been keeping him in shape?_  
  
The introductions would be interesting indeed.

* * *

"Introduce yourselves."  
  
Kakashi stood rigid in front of the three newly-promoted Genin. Their seats on the ground made it seem like the Jounin was even taller than he really was.  
  
Intimidating. Not at all the lazy slouch that was no longer annoying to Sasuke but rather a reminder of a world he was no longer in, of a jonin sensei that was friendlier and more tolerating by the looks of it.  
  
"Like what?" Sakura inquired.  
  
"Likes. Dislikes. Hobbies. Goal."  
  
Sasuke decided he'd better keep things as close to the original timeline as possible, just for the fun of things. "Kakashi-sensei, how about you go first?"  
  
"My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes are nobody's business. I have a few hobbies... My goal... I'd rather not say."  
  
Sakura was indignant, but thankfully quiet. "So we only got his name..." she whispered to herself.  
  
"You first, girl."  
  
The addressed person bit her lip at the 'nickname', but she decided to continue. "My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes..." she giggled nervously while glancing in Naruto's direction. The blond ignored her. "I dislike Sasuke. My hobby..." she shrugged. "My goal..." another giggle, and another glance at Naruto.  
  
"You next, Uchiha."  
  
Sasuke thought for a second. He did not like ramen or Sakura, nor did he want to become Hokage. _There goes Naruto's introduction... Well... this Sasuke would be different from the original Sasuke in this world._ "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like to train... and... I dislike..." his eyes glazed, and he was sure Kakashi saw. "I dislike traitors. I don't have much of a hobby, and my goal... I... I'm not sure of yet."  
  
He could feel Kakashi's gaze linger on him for a few moments, then turn to Naruto.  
  
"Your turn, Namikaze."  
  
"My name is Namikaze Naruto. I have few likes but many dislikes. My hobby is irrelevant, and my goal is to surpass one person."  
  
Again, Kakashi's gaze lingered on Naruto before he turned to the other two. "Tomorrow you'll be tested for Genin."  
  
"But we already passed!" Sakura flared indignantly and Sasuke rolled his eyes, an action the Jonin did not miss.  
  
Kakashi's one eye narrowed at Sakura. "The Academy Graduating Exam was simply for those who qualified to be tested. This test has a sixty-six percent dropout. If you pass, you'll become Genin. If you fail, you get sent back to the Academy."  
  
Both Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief. Sakura's in shock at the harshness being directed at her. She was a teacher's pet so she was usually treated with kindness. Sasuke's eyes widened with the realisation that he was stuck doing the bell test AGAIN.  
  
"Come to Training Area 9 _(What the hell happened to 7?)_ tomorrow. Oh..." Kakashi's eyebrow formed into an amused expression. "And don't eat breakfast."  
  
Three pairs of eyebrows were raised in inquiry.  
  
"You'll puke."  
  
Three pairs of eyes widened in horror. Sasuke's merely at the way the two statements, one from the lazy Kakashi and one from the coldly aloof one, differed. One was a friendly suggestion and the other was almost an order. Sasuke found himself thinking that this was going to get dodgy.


	4. 【章四】

**Chapter 4**  
  
_He could hear dripping. Liquid- water, perhaps? Or maybe acid? Maybe blood._  
  
 _He tried to gather what he knew about the room he was in._  
  
 _Dripping liquid. It had dripping liquid._  
  
 _Dark. It was dark, too. With no light, none at all._  
  
 _Cold- but not the cold of the underground he usually felt. This was … Bitter. Damp._  
  
 _Disgusting._  
  
 _Footsteps? Did he hear footsteps in the distance?_  
  
 _"Sasuke-kun, are you awake?"_  
  
 _Ironic. Such a caring phrase, yet such a sneering voice. How he hated being called –kun._  
  
 _Silky, yet pure venom._  
  
 _He knew only one person with that voice._  
  
 _The hebi-sannin, Orochimaru._  
  
 _Hate, at first. He could not describe his fury at the sannin. But before his anger had erupted completely, Orochimaru spoke._  
  
 _"I suppose you know what is happening, don't you, Sasuke-kun?"_  
  
 _No. He wanted to say no. He wanted to spit in the hebi's face and torture him to death._  
  
 _But he couldn't. He'd chosen this path, it was his to follow._  
  
 _"Kukuku, Sasuke-kun, you can't speak, can you? Well, let me explain for you." The sannin began to pace around the table which Sasuke was chained to. "You are about to become an experiment."_  
  
 _The snake-like yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness leaned in closer, locking with the boy's Sharingan._  
  
 _"My experiment."_  
  
 _Pain. Indescribable pain._  
  
 _Then blackness._

* * *

Sasuke snapped up suddenly, hardly daring to breathe. He jerked his head around, almost expecting to see the huge glass vials filled with strange liquids and Orochimaru's face leering into his, a smug expression on his lips. Sasuke's lungs expanded, contracted, expanded, contracted  
  
An experiment.  
  
_The hebi..._  
  
Breathing deeply for a few minutes, he tried to calm himself down. _Quiet down, Sasuke! It was... It was only a dream..._  
  
He shook his head.  
  
Some things would never change, but for Naruto's sake, for _his_ sake, they had to.

* * *

"Where is Kakashi-sensei?!"  
  
Again, Sakura was whining about the tardiness of her sensei. Again, it had only been five minutes. An entirely new experience for Sasuke and one he wasn't entirely sure he liked or not.  
  
Sasuke felt like banging his head against the tree stump he was leaning on. His nightmare had left him in a foul mood, and now Sakura's whining was causing him a headache. No, scratch that, Sakura's whining _and_ Naruto's silence were both causing him a huge headache. "Will you _mind_ quieting _down_ , Sakura?" It was more of an order than a question. A tone of voice he usually reserved for when speaking to Orochimaru, Kabuto and their snivelling experiments.  
  
She glared at him. "Baka, you have absolutely _no right_ to order me in that tone!" Sakura placed her hands on her hips defiantly. "And I'll keep on complaining until _someone,_ " here she glanced at Naruto in a lovesick way, "tells me to stop."  
  
_Do not Chidori your teammate, do not Chidori your teammate, do not Chidori your teammate …_  
  
Naruto, as usual, ignored her, his blond hair falling over his eyes as he glared at the ground. The Uchiha averted his eyes. He still had to reach Naruto before the Chuunin Exams, but he had no idea of how to do it. _I... I can't act like Naruto._ _That's just not_ me. _But unless I do, how can I reach him, like he did for me? Can I just... act myself? Will it work? I only have one chance..._  
  
Sasuke snapped his head up suddenly, sensing a chakra signature on the left. Strange; it was hardly suppressed, and almost seemed _flaunted._ He raised an eyebrow. Surely Kakashi-sensei wasn't that stupid? Had he done that the first time around?  
  
"Hey!" Not Kakashi-sensei's greeting.  
  
A man walked out of the woods. _Uchiha_ was the first thought that came to Sasuke's mind. Short, spiky black hair, and ridiculous translucent orange goggles tied roughly where his hitai-ate should've been, or rather over it. He had this strange vibe about him that made Sasuke think of Naruto and that was weird.  
  
Sasuke blinked. He didn't know this person at all. Should he just "wing it"? Was he supposed to know this person?  
  
The female kunoichi of Team 7 glared at the man. "Who are you?" She asked, observing him closely. "You're not our sensei."  
  
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then laughed. "I'm _the_ Uchiha Obito!" Obito? Why did that sound familiar?  
Sakura's eyes twitched. _" 'The'?"_ She asked skeptically.  
  
"Ehhh..." He gave a lopsided grin.  
  
Sasuke tried to smile at this "Obito" person, but only managed a slight twitch of his lips. He noticed Sakura doing the same, but Naruto gave the man the angriest glare the blond could manage. He knew the Uchiha, personally.  
  
Obito's face fell flat, and he groaned. "Great- two Kakashis!" But then he brightened- "Nice, a Rin!" He said, glancing at Sakura. "But I thought Sasuke-kun was supposed to be more like me?"  
  
Suddenly, a voice from the trees on the left. "Shut it, Obito. What are you doing with my team?" Kakashi's voice was like steel, but the Uchiha with the goggles seemed used to it.  
  
"Aww, Kakashi, you ruined _everything_..." Obito whined.  
  
Sasuke blinked. This man seemed almost like the old Naruto, to an extent. With Kakashi-sensei like this, whatever this was, it reminded the younger Uchiha of himself and his own Naruto.  
  
Kakashi rolled his one visible eye and joined Obito in front of his team. "Obito, you can watch if you want, but don't interfere."  
  
"Whatever." Sasuke never thought he'd see a grown man pout AND an Uchiha no less.  
  
"And now," the silver-haired Jounin turned to his new team, "your survival training will start." He took two bells out of his back pocket and dangled them in front of the Genin. "I have two bells here. If you get a bell before noon, you can have lunch. But if you _don't_ get a bell, you fail the test- and I'll tie you up to one of those posts over there," he pointed to three tall, wooden posts behind them, "and you will _watch_ me eat lunch."  
  
Sakura gulped, then noticed something odd. "But sensei, there are only two bells."  
  
Kakashi cocked his head and smirked. "Well, then one person is guaranteed to be tied up and sent back to the Academy."  
  
All three Genin widened their eyes in terror, fervently hoping they wouldn't be the victims, Sasuke only because he'd been through this before and this new Kakashi was unknown to him.

* * *

Sasuke breathed quietly, hoping Kakashi-sensei wouldn't hear his steady breaths. He'd already suppressed his chakra to a level which would hide him from most Genin. Of course he expected Kakashi-sensei to notice him, but if Sasuke had suppressed his chakra to a level which would hide him from most Jounin, his sensei would become suspicious at his sudden "disappearance."  
  
And the last thing Sasuke needed was for Kakashi to become suspicious.  
  
But he didn't like losing. Still this test was never about the bells. He knew that but how would he convince the others of that? Sakura would do whatever Naruto did. Once again Sasuke was stuck with the sense of frustration, a frustration that he realised Naruto, his one anyway, had been faced with for most of his life.  
  
The silence was tense. Though he had improved greatly under the tutelage of Orochimaru himself, the Uchiha boy still wasn't sure if he could take down Kakashi-sensei, a Jounin and ex-ANBU, by himself. Especially at the level he was at now. This wasn't the point of the exercise, he knew that and he had to remember that, but if Kakashi got to Naruto or Sakura before him...  
  
A shrill scream interrupted his thoughts, and he jerked his head towards the noise. _Darn, he's_ _already got Sakura..._  
  
Only one thought ran through his mind as he raced through the trees.  
  
_I have to find Naruto before Kakashi gets to him._

* * *

"Naruto."  
  
Naruto, startled, jumped back from the voice. He relaxed when he saw it was Sasuke, but still held a wary glare.  
  
"Naruto, we have to work together on this."  
  
"And why should I do that?"  
  
Sasuke winced. _Maybe I should've started differently..._ "Why do you think they put us into teams?"  
  
"It's probably just a trick."  
  
The dobe was being so _stubborn..._ Naruto, at least the one from this reality, seemed to have the potential to figure out this test but his arrogance was getting in the way. Sasuke swallowed his pride. "Please, you just have to trust me on this." He stepped forward. "Please."  
  
Naruto could hardly believe it. He checked for a henge, but found there was none. Sasuke, the dead last, was actually _begging_ for help?  
  
Sasuke pressed on. "I know the purpose of this test. I asked one of my relatives about it and they gave me a hint." He was lying, but he didn't care. He just needed Team 7 to pass the test. He didn't know what he'd do if Naruto called him out on being disowned.  
  
The blond considered the idea, then rolled his eyes. It would be the first _and_ last time he'd do something like this. He had to become a genin so that he could progress. "Fine."  
  
"Then this is what we'll do..." Too bad Sasuke couldn't use all his skills.

* * *

Kakashi did not like to wait. In fact, it irritated him every time he had to. And now he was irritated. _Very_ irritated.  
  
Simply put, there had not been any action since the beginning of the test, when Sasuke had "challenged" him before disappearing into the forest. He did not count Sakura's failure to recognize genjutsu _action._  
  
"You think they have a chance of passing?" Obito asked from a bench, interrupting his thoughts. The Uchiha was lounging around, getting just as bored at the other Jonin, only his relief was to annoy said Jonin since he didn't have to keep an eye out for pesky genin.  
  
The silver-haired Jounin shrugged. "If they pass, they pass; if they fail, they fail. It doesn't matter what I think."  
  
Obito rolled his eyes. "But still, what do you think? Do you think they're promising enough?"  
  
A sigh. "I have the extremes- the best and the worst in the class, matched with the average. Naruto, though sensei's son, seems the complete opposite of him. He's dark, moody, and overall inconsiderate of others. Sasuke, the Uchiha, is supposed to be the "dead last" of the Academy, but seems serious and mature enough. Minato-sensei also said he almost outran his ANBU." Obito's eyes widened in surprise, before recognition dawned and he muttered something about Shisui, and Kakashi continued on. "Finally, Sakura..." Another sigh. "She's all over Naruto and all under being a Shinobi. Not a good combination."  
  
Obito snorted. "Figures, just like Rin was all over _you_ in the Academy. Still she was serious enough about being a ninja." The he dropped the grin. "But the dead last... almost outran _ANBU_? And sensei's _personal_ ANBU, to boot? Either he's hiding something, or the Academy's graduating level has jumped exponentially the last few years." He rubbed his temples.  
  
Kakashi shook his head. "No, I visited the Academy a few months ago to pick something up. It hasn't grown in level at all- it's still the same. Personally, I don't see how Sasuke could have outrun ANBU. I looked at all of his scores for the Academy, and they average about D-."  
  
"Even in speed?"  
  
"Even in speed. Perhaps the ANBU are starting to get soft. Peace does not do us any favours." _Us – ANBU._  
  
Obito shook his head in disbelief, and ignoring the ANBU comment. It was ridiculous. Those guys were expected to be at the top of their game at all times. "Then he's hiding something." He glanced up, his expression filled with fear. "Do you think... _it_... got out?"  
  
The other shook his head. "I checked for signs of demonic chakra, but found none. Sasuke is himself, though I don't see how he could have that extreme level of speed."  
  
"Strange..."  
  
Without warning, a few kunai were thrown out of the forest, aimed at Kakashi, but the Jounin quickly took out his own kunai and blocked the others without trouble. They weren't thrown with enough force. Both Naruto and Sasuke leaped out of the forest, and Kakashi, quick as always, struck both of them with the flat of his hand  
  
But they disappeared into smoke.  
  
_Bunshin... These Genin are better than the other teams. But are they what I'm looking for? After all Bunshin and henge could mean only one genin, but which one?_  
  
Sasuke leaped out of the forest on his right, and Kakashi was surprised- the "dead last's" speed did match that of ANBU's. But there was no time to think about that. Naruto had sprung out on his left, fast, but not as fast as Sasuke. Kakashi prepared to deal with them with taijutsu. He wouldn't resort to ninjutsu unless necessary, and his specialty was not genjutsu, but it just might be Sasuke's since he was an Uchiha … but he didn't have the Sharingan, at least that's what the reports said.  
  
Obito was shocked into silence and awe; the two Genin were far better than expected, especially from the "dead last." The two were working flawlessly together. When one feinted, the other struck, and together they were slowly taking Kakashi down. It was almost as though they had worked together before, but reports said they hated each other. Activating his Sharingan, Obito noticed that it was _Sasuke_ that was working in conjunction with _Naruto?_ It was Sasuke that was making the teamwork flawless.  
  
Too bad it wasn't an only-taijutsu match.  
  
_Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!_ Kakashi quickly formed the seals for the fire jutsu. Both of the Genin's eyes widened, but Sasuke, having the faster reflexes, pushed his friend out of harm's way. The large fireball was closing in on Sasuke, and for a moment the Jounin thought it would hit his new  
student.  
  
But Sasuke, as usual, had a surprised for everyone.  
  
At first it seemed like the Kaiten; then after, it seemed as if not. Sasuke, having decided he wouldn't be able to survive the Goukakyuu without using one of his high-levelled jutsus, or using his own fireball which would result only in a larger explosion, performed a jutsu derived from the Kaiten, except in mid-air. The spinning air quickly deflected the fire and dissipated the fireball within a few seconds.  
  
 _It isn't possible,_ Kakashi thought, _but there it is._  
  
He noticed the spinning Sasuke had just performed the bunshin no jutsu and sent it behind Kakashi.  
  
He also noticed its hands were reaching for the bells. Bunshin, unless made out of something like mud or water, couldn't actually touch anything. Unless it was a shadow clone. What was the Uchiha playing at?  
  
But then he noticed Sasuke's pupils flash crimson red for a moment, then disappear. _Sharingan..._ Or was it just a trick of the light? Whatever it was, it served to distract him and perhaps that's all that it had really been intended to do.  
  
He felt something on his hip. _Right where the bells were-_ he wasn't a jonin for nothing and he wasn't going to lose to the _supposed_ 'dead last' of the Academy!  
  
Kakashi snapped his arm towards the bunshin and it exploded into a smoke ball. Mentally, he let out a sigh. _That has got to be the first time a Genin has gotten that close to getting a bell from him._  
  
Indeed, this "dead last" Uchiha Sasuke was definitely someone to look into.

* * *

Sasuke breathed hard, his lungs gasping in air. He noticed Obito and Naruto gaping at him and Kakashi's one eye scrutinizing him suspiciously.  
  
He cursed. _I knew I shouldn't have done that..._  
  
But a voice in the back of his head resisted: _If you hadn't, Naruto would've been scorched!_  
  
_Still..._  
  
 _Isn't it worth it to save the dobe?_  
  
Growling in frustration Sasuke jerked his head away from the others so they wouldn't see the battle of emotions raging in his eyes. He wasn't as skilled as he'd been in his own world but he was definitely above average, way better than when he'd been a genin the first time and wondered if he could still use all the techniques he'd been working on.  
  
Still, was displaying those skills to save the not-so-dobe dobe?  
  
Sasuke decided it was. He was about to give a plausible explanation for his unexpected move when suddenly a sharp, repeating bell rang out through the clearing. Mentally, he swore. _We still didn't get the bells... but we_ did _use teamwork. Does that mean we pass, or not? Is this new Kakashi enough like the old one to pass us?_  
  
"Well," Kakashi started, "do you now know the reason for this test?"  
  
"Was it teamwork?" _Darn_ Naruto, stealing Sasuke's answers. At least Sasuke never took credit when it wasn't due. He sneered in distaste at the blond.  
  
"Correct. Genin, if they worked together, could theoretically take a Jonin down. Since you two teamed up, you two pass." Kakashi's eye formed a slight crescent.  
  
"But sensei," Naruto started, "we didn't get a bell. What do you mean, we pass?" And they called Sasuke the dobe. There was the Naruto he knew and loved to hate.  
  
"The bells were never the objective of the mission. Look beneath the underneath. The true meaning was teamwork. And since you two did that, both of you pass."  
  
"But what about Sakura?" Sasuke asked, fearful all three wouldn't be passed and therefore change the future. He couldn't predict the future of a different timeline. But this fear was unfounded. It had to be. Still, this Kakashi was not his Kakashi. "A genin team is three!" Sasuke added with a protest and saw an odd yet surprised gleam in Kakashi's visible eye.  
  
"Sakura, I'm afraid, has failed. She will be tied up to one of the poles, while you two will get lunch." Kakashi seemed not to care.  
  
A voice came from the far corner of the clearing: "Who will get what?"  
  
Sakura grinned and waved. "I broke out of the genjutsu, Kakashi-sensei! Now what?"  
  
Everyone sweatdropped at the pink-haired kunoichi.  
  
"Ehh, what did I do?"  
  
"I don't care what you say. Genin teams are three. Sakura passes or we all go back to the Academy!" Sasuke wasn't sure where the outburst had come from but it was there and it was surprising everyone, including himself.  
  
"Didn't he request to be on your team because of Sakura?" Obito whispered to Kakashi whose eye twitched.  
  
"If that's true then I'll eat my own mask." Kakashi deadpanned.  
  
"Oooo, Sasuke-kun, why did you request to be placed on Team 7?" Obito asked gleefully.  
  
"Yuuhi's team was not in my skill set." Sasuke replied shortly. "Team 7 also has Hatake as the jonin sensei. He is the jonin most suited to my fighting style."  
  
"Well that was unexpected. Who knew there was actually a poor misguided soul out there that truly wanted to be around your arrogant ass Kakashi? Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I'll save you from your deluded misconceptions of this baka." Obito laughed when Kakashi sent him a withering glare.  
  
"If that's the way you see things Obito, then why the hell are you still bugging the shit out of me?" Kakashi snapped but internally he was thinking that unexpected just didn't seem to be adequate enough when it concerned a certain Uchiha.

* * *

Obito and Kakashi walked away from the training ground, both of them more than a little stunned. Kakashi was trying to wrap his head around the fact that Sasuke had been so different from the report and was starting to understand why his sensei had made the switch.  
  
Obito was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Kakashi had actually passed a team.  
How could he not when they'd worked together so flawlessly?  
  
"It was all Sasuke, wasn't it?" Kakashi asked quietly, looking to Obito with a sideways glance. Obito was walking on Kakashi's right so that he wasn't in the other jonin's blind spot.  
  
"With the teamwork? Yeah it was. It was like he knew how Naruto-kun would fight." Obito replied. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I mean what if he's a spy right, and his whole aim is to get close enough to the Hokage."  
  
"If that were the case then what about the last twelve years? He's been the open favourite of Minato-sensei's for years. No, it's not an assassination plot, it's different." Kakashi mused.  
  
"Maybe we're all over thinking things here. This is Sasuke-kun we're talking about right, and he _is_ an Uchiha. Then there's _that_ sealed within him. It could be making a difference. Not to mention, Sasuke-kun is the younger brother of Itachi-kun. There had to be some family resemblance." Obito suggested.  
  
"But why hide?" Kakashi countered.  
  
"Didn't he say it was because everyone hates him?"  
  
Kakashi didn't reply. They'd reached the jonin station where all the jonin sensei had planned to meet to give the results of their individual tests. Kakashi sighed and mentally prepared himself for a lot of irritation. This was going to get bothersome.  
  
Obito grabbed his arm and yanked him inside. "Hey everybody! You're never going to believe this!" he announced as he walked in, dragging a reluctant Kakashi.  
  
"Let me guess, Kakashi failed his team, again. Man I'd hate to be the Hokage when he gets home tonight." Asuma chuckled.  
  
"Wrong! Kakashi passed them! Sasuke-kun figured out the meaning behind the test and oh so skilfully got Naruto to work with him. You guys should have seen it. It was amazing." Obito gushed dramatically. Personally Kakashi thought he was over doing it but that was Obito for you. He never did anything like a normal sane person would.  
  
Several people choked on their coffee while others dropped things they'd been holding. Mostly though, they stared at Kakashi in shock.  
  
"What? I couldn't fail them after that." Kakashi very nearly pouted. "Besides, Sasuke did some rather interesting things. I want to see what else he can do."  
  
"But Hatake-san, I thought that Sasuke-kun was more of a tracking kind?" Yuuhi asked, tilting her head slightly.  
  
"Yeah, so did we. But he's more of a frontal attack type. Doesn't really wait in the shadows. He started the test by coming right at me." Kakashi replied with a frown. "But now that I think about it, it was like he was doing it …" Kakashi's voice trailed off and Obito's eyes widened.  
  
"Like he was doing it for old time's sake." Obito finished. "He wasn't really focusing on the spar. His attention was on the trees where Naruto-kun and the pink haired one was hiding. Not very well I might add."  
  
"Things just get worse and worse." Kakashi sighed. "And now I actually have to teach them."  
  
"I don't want to freak you out Kakashi, but I gotta tell you. I think Sasuke-kun has been stalking  
you." Obito suddenly whispered overly loudly and with too much dramatic flair. Kakashi narrowed his gaze at the Uchiha who grinned back.  
  
"And why do you think that?" Kakashi deadpanned.  
  
"Cause he fights just like you do. Well when he's not using the Uchiha style, which by the way is very sloppy. It never was quite as effective when one doesn't have a Sharingan. Anyways, there were some moves in there that weren't from you or the Uchiha style, but that could just be improvisation but I don't think so. He was too thoughtless in the action, instinctual. It's really kind of creepy when I think about just how much he reminds me of your fighting style when you were still a jackass and started to copy the Uchiha style just to piss me off." Obito explained.  
  
Kakashi sighed. He really hated it when the genin teams surprised him. However, this was the first time they'd over exceeded his expectations.  
  
"He's better at this underneath the underneath thing than you are my Eternal Rival." Gai said with his eyes wide. "I did not think it was possible."  
  
"We'll just have to wait and see." Kakashi dismissed, folding his arms across his chest to indicate he was done with this conversation. He would have been out of here long ago but he had to wait for Minato sensei. Things were going to get very interesting indeed.

* * *

"Naruto, at point A. Target is in sight."  
  
"Sasuke, at point B. Target is also in sight."  
  
"Sakura, at point C. Target... in sight."  
  
"Good. Close in and capture target."  
  
Sasuke shook his head as he tried to keep his concentration. He had stayed up late the previous night, reviewing some scrolls he'd found in his apartment. So far he'd found nothing interesting but if he took into consideration that he was supposed to be like Naruto in this reality, then any scrolls he deemed worthy of keeping had to have something either completely useless or utterly golden in them. But so far, nothing. That exhaustion plus the pure _boredom_ of continuous D-ranked missions was beginning to eat at his attention span, which was already dwindling.  
  
As Sasuke listened to Obito-san's hardly-disguised chuckles, absentmindedly he wondered if Dranked missions were created for the amusement of the Jounin senseis.  
  
A shrill meow rang out through the forest, alerting the Uchiha boy that the target, a.k.a. Tora the cat, was caught. And a few minutes earlier than estimated, by his watch. Well finally, he was about to die of boredom.  
  
He moved in, pushing aside a few bushes blocking his sight. The view was as expected. Sakura was comforting the cat, while it tried to squirm free. Considering what he knew of that cat he certainly didn't blame the darn thing. If this wasn't a mission, he'd actually set it free out of pity. The Uchiha did typically summon ninja cats after all.  
  
Though when it caught sight of Sasuke, Tora suddenly decided a new target had appeared.  
  
He tried to push the clawing menace away from his face- _Not the eyes, not the eyes!_ \- with little success. Suddenly, Tora's fate didn't seem to sadden the Uchiha all that much.  
  
Sasuke shuddered as Sakura finally took pity on him and lifted the cat away.  
  
_I really, really hate cats. Well, that cat anyway._

* * *

"What mission do you want next? There's walking dogs, helping out at a home, babysitting, painting some fences, village chores, planting the tomato crops, harvesting the bean crops..." The Yondaime's voice droned on. While tomatoes were Sasuke's favourite, he just didn't think he liked them enough to actually plant them. He actually almost considered it though, just so that he could get a few seeds and start his own little tomato patch, seeing as the stores didn't sell him anything worth eating.  
  
It seemed as if Team 7 were almost asleep due to the man's low tone, however, Sasuke was thinking a matter over, a more important matter than that of tomato plants. _If I interrupt him and ask for a better ranked mission, we'll go on a mission to Wave Country. Yet, if I don't, we get stuck with more D-ranked missions._  
  
_...Is there even a competition?_  
  
He glanced at the pile of papers the blond was shuffling.  
  
_Well, I guess I'd better start my outburst..._  
  
_Acting Naruto-like is_ so _not me. Oh man, this gets more embarrassing every time I do it …_  
  
"Hey, Minato-oyaji!"  
  
Minato looked up at the excitable Uchiha. For once, he was glad to see the boy acting like himself. "What is it, Sasuke-kun?" He asked, a smile tugging at his lips. _If I know Sasuke-kun, then he's bored of these D-ranked missions._  
  
"I'm bored of these annoying missions! Can't we do something cooler, not that tomatoes aren't cool and all but come on!? This is getting ridiculous. I'm too awesome for these kinds of missions. I need something with action! I need something with princesses–"  
  
Kakashi promptly silenced the boy with a slap on the back of the head and Sasuke could cry for the relief he felt. That acting was starting to require far too little effort on his part. "Disregard his rudeness, Sensei." Kakashi really was so much more respectful in this reality. Man, it was almost annoying.  
  
"But, aren't you tired of these missions, too?" Sasuke whined, faking tears, which unsurprisingly had no effect on the silver-haired Jounin.  
  
Kakashi narrowed his eye. "That is beside the point. Genin take D-ranks and as your sensei, so do I."  
  
"You are, aren't you, Kakashi-sensei? That 'rules are everything' crap is only an act, isn't it? I bet you'd love nothing better than to grab one of those weird little orange books and read it to your heart's content, no matter where you are. And being on time has got to be a pain in the ass–"  
  
_"Silence!"_ An enraged yell from Iruka shut Sasuke up quickly. "Genin aren't supposed to do Cranked missions! Those are reserved for Chuunin only! _Do you understand, Sasuke?"_  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke waved his hand dismissively. "Back to the point! Can we do one, Minatooyaji? Please? Please? _Puh-leeze?_ " Interestingly enough, Kakashi was silent as a crypt about Sasuke's earlier statements. Maybe Sasuke would get him an Icha Icha as a present.  
  
"You disgraceful-" Iruka's face was reddening. Man that guy had a temper.  
  
Minato held a chuckle in. Sasuke was rather amusing, he admitted that. He somehow brought the best out of everyone... even if they were unwilling to admit it. "Sure, Sasuke-kun, I have just the Cranked mission for you." And really, the mission he had in mind would be perfect. It would satisfy Sasuke and Iruka.  
  
Sasuke's face turned gleeful, while Iruka shouted indignantly, "What? Hokage-sama, you cannot be serious!"  
  
"I am," Minato's eyes sparkled with excitement. "if Team 7 agrees." Jip, it would be perfect. It was hardly more than a babysitting job after all. Kakashi might just hate him for it but oh well.  
  
Sasuke immediately gave his consent. "Hai, I'm ready!"  
  
Naruto tilted his head, and Minato took it as another consent. If only that boy had a little more expression, something a little more like Sasuke, well more like the way Sasuke had been. It saddened him to think that he now had two, wait counting Kakashi made three stoic individuals that were precious to him.  
  
Sakura, seeing her crush's decision, agreed as well. "If Naruto-kun wants to do the mission," she blushed, "then I will, too."  
  
Kakashi, though, was silent for a few moments, his expression unreadable. Finally, "Genin are not supposed to do C-ranked missions. Is this wise?" he asked. Ah, back to the rules again. Sasuke was sooo getting him an Icha Icha book. That book was going to haunt his sensei until he accepted it.  
  
"Are you questioning my decision?"  
  
The silver-haired Jounin sighed. There was no getting around him, was there? "No, Sensei. I agree to the mission."  
  
"Good!" Minato leaned back in his chair with a large grin, like he hadn't just levelled his best jonin with a glare cold enough to freeze hellfire. "Iruka, give Kakashi the information slip."  
  
Iruka, thankfully without protesting, handed the man a slip of paper- though grudgingly. "I still wish you hadn't..." he muttered.  
  
"You will be escorting someone to the Land of the Wave." Minato smiled at Sasuke's shining eyes, never guessing the boy was acting his excitement. On the inside, Sasuke wanted to groan. There had always been the off chance that the mission had been given to some other team or that it had taken place next week. But as luck would have it, it was this week, on this day, in this particular hour.  
  
How fun.  
  
"Who will we escort, oyaji? A princess, maybe? Someone royal, I hope!" Sasuke jumped up and down in anticipation. Outwardly smiling like a fool, but inwardly the Uchiha was thinking of ways to calm down by imagining all those that he'd like to throttle. Wasn't so bad when he thought if it that way. _Oh look, there went Orochimaru, ah Kabuto, he would not be missed, ooo now it was this weird ass Naruto who never smiled . . ._  
  
"Tazuna-san," Minato called, "you may come in now."  
  
Team 7 turned towards the door behind them. A man, roughly built and raggedly-dressed, walked in. He held a sake bottle in one hand and a towel in the other, draped casually over his shoulder.  
His grey beard and bespectacled face only brought the three Genin back to reality.  
  
Sasuke's face fell dramatically. They were _definitely_ not escorting someone royal and he would know.  
  
"These three kids are escorting me?" he asked incredulously. Tazuna, as Hokage-sama had addressed him, pointed at Sasuke. "Hey, is that one with the stupid face really a ninja? 'Cause he sure doesn't look like one."  
  
Sasuke narrowed his eyes in anger, but said nothing. Still he had to wonder how it was possible that _he_ looked like the stupid one in this reality when he was acting no different from the last time and in his reality Naruto had been the stupid looking one. Minato and Iruka's eyebrows raised simultaneously. Sasuke was not usually one for restraint in situations like these and there probably went the little bit of comfort the Hokage felt around him. Now he was just going to be even more suspicious and if Sasuke kept falling into the 'act like Naruto' bit, the Yondaime was going to catch on and realise that he could switch it on and off like a light switch. It would not end well.  
  
A tense silence reigned as Team 7 digested the insult. Kakashi, as a rule, did not like people making derogatory remarks about his team (it was his _only_ team and it was by extension insulting him), though his expression stayed the same. Naruto stared with indifference, and Sakura couldn't have cared less. Seeing their reactions clenched at Sasuke's heart, but he gritted his teeth in silence.  
  
Tazuna rolled his eyes, unimpressed at their control of emotions. "I'll be going to the Country of the Wave. Hope you gakis aren't too scared of water."  
  
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "We are ninjas, Tazuna-san, not kids to be babied. Whatever it takes to get you there, we will do it." Sasuke knew better than anyone just where this mission was headed. Straight for the A-ranks. At least there was something there.  
  
"Whatever," Tazuna shrugged.  
  
Kakashi turned to his team. "Tomorrow, eight o'clock, at the East Gate. Don't dawdle." And with those instructions, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke held back a snort and wondered if he should be late, just for the hell of it.  
  
Minato watched the three Genin walk out of the room. He leaned back, and absentmindedly, he wondered how they would hold up. He was a little saddened when Sasuke-kun didn't look back as he left.  
  
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Sasuke-kun poked his head through the door and grinned mischievously as though he knew that Minato wasn't expecting this, "Thanks for the mission Minato-oyaji." Then he was gone again.  
  
The Hokage sighed and wondered just how many more surprises that boy was going to throw at him.

* * *

"Sakura."  
  
Sakura turned, finding the person she least expected. "Sasuke-baka," she hissed, "What do you want?"  
  
Sasuke's eyes held a blank stare. "Sakura." Yet inwardly, he found himself asking, once again, how the hell Naruto had put up with it and why he ever liked Sakura in the first place?  
  
She was surprised at the lack of the _-chan_ he usually added to her name. Now he sounded strange; like it was a whole different person speaking. The kunoichi crossed her arms in annoyance a disdainful expression came over her face.  
  
Though, whatever she was expecting Sasuke to say did not come. Instead …  
  
"Sakura, are you a Shinobi or not?"  
  
It wasn't a question. It was a statement. _You're not a Shinobi_ was the hidden message behind the question, like he knew something she didn't. Those eyes said it all. Sasuke's bold, onyx eyes narrowed at her, challenging her, sneering at her, _mocking_ her-  
  
"Why you-" Sakura fisted her hand and drew back for a punch. An automatic reflex where Sasuke was involved.  
  
But Sasuke was behind her before she knew it. His grip on her wrist was iron-like, fierce and unmerciful. Sakura could feel his hot breaths on her neck.  
  
When had he gotten so fast? He'd always been beaten by Naruto-kun and she'd always landed her punches before … before graduation.  
  
"By the way you fawn over Naruto, I'd think you were a simple lovesick girl. And I'm beginning to think that's right."  
  
She tried to twist out of his grip, but her efforts were in vain.  
  
"Naruto doesn't care about anyone who doesn't try hard to be a Shinobi. All he cares about is strength." That was assuming Naruto was exactly as he'd been when he was younger.  
  
Tears leaked out of her eyes. **_He's right_** , her Inner Self told her. **_Naruto-kun doesn't care..._**  
  
"You have to train hard to be a Shinobi. One of the best. It's not something you can simply answer, like a test. It's a way of _life._ The answers don't come in a textbook and can't be recited."  
  
_Naruto-kun doesn't care..._  
  
"Train harder. Only then will Naruto acknowledge you."  
  
_He doesn't..._  
  
The iron-like grip was released, and Sakura fell forward, breathing deep, uneven breaths.  
  
_He doesn't care about people who don't try hard to be a Shinobi._  
  
_Am I... like that?_  
  
She turned around, only to see Sasuke had disappeared.  
  
_Train harder._  
  
She gripped the edge of the kunai she had taken out.  
  
_It's true, only then..._  
  
Sakura lifted it to the back of her head. One hand held a fistful of hair, while the other gripped the kunai, shaking.  
  
A single slice.  
  
A single stroke.  
  
Pink hair fluttered down to the ground. A momentary decision that felt _right._  
  
_...will he acknowledge me._

* * *

The next day, Sakura came to the East Gate with her cherry pink hair cropped at shoulder-length.  
  
To any dignified kunoichi, such as Yamanaka Ino, the act she had done the previous night would have seemed like a scandal, no less than a heinous crime. Naruto, as usual, gave the new haircut one glance and then looked away. He had no time for lovesick fangirls such as a certain two blond and pink haired kunoichi. Sasuke gave Sakura an approving look before he too looked away. Kakashi made no outward sign of noticing the hairstyle, and Tazuna had not yet arrived.  
  
The pink-haired kunoichi sighed. _At least they didn't say anything negative, right? Especially Naruto-kun. **But he should've at least smiled a bit! That boy doesn't know anything about how hard it is to be a kunoichi!**_ Lately, Sakura noticed her Inner Self had become quite active in conversations.  
  
Naruto never smiled. So why would now be any different. Now that Sasuke had confronted her, she realised just how much of a fool she'd been, just how she must seem to Naruto.  
  
She started to walk over to Naruto, but then remembered Sasuke's words.  
  
_"Sakura, are you a Shinobi or not?"_  
  
 _"By the way you fawn over Naruto, I'd think you were a simple lovesick girl. And I'm beginning to think that's right."_  
  
 _"Naruto doesn't care about anyone who doesn't try hard to be a Shinobi."_  
  
Sakura froze midstep, then backed away from her crush and instead stood a few yards away from him. She crossed her arms, but said nothing, and stared at the ground. Kakashi rose a single eyebrow at the new development. Any day Sakura decided _not_ to proclaim her love to Naruto was a special day indeed; but he said nothing, as he did not wish to ruin the peaceful lull that had come over the four Shinobi.  
  
The three Genin found something very interesting with the ground for the next few minutes. Sasuke mentally sighed, finding the silence straining. He felt the urge to break it, since it clashed with his expectations and memories of his team but he was stubborn. He would not be the one to break the silence. That was Naruto's job.  
  
But … in this world, he was Naruto.  
  
"Ohayo, gaki!" Tazuna, their client, jogged up to the group. He was dressed as before: ragged clothes and a sake bottle in hand. "Let's go!"  
  
Silence greeted him, but Kakashi rose and joined Tazuna. Slowly, the Genin did as well - Sakura first, then Sasuke, then finally Naruto. Sasuke figured that Naruto and Sakura didn't think much of Tazuna or his mission. He suspected that Kakashi had already figured something was up with the man but wasn't certain about it, and could possibly be chalking up suspicions up to a case of paranoia. Sasuke, however, knew better.  
  
As the group began walking out of Konohagakure, Tazuna's high spirits were somewhat  
dampened by the silent Shinobi. When he had requested escorts, he hadn't expected a group of regular _ice blocks._ What was it with Shinobi and their 'no emotions' rule?  
  
Tazuna brightened when he heard Sakura speak up: "Kakashi-sensei, are there Shinobi in the Country of the Wave?" Maybe he wouldn't be the only one talking.  
  
"No."  
  
Or maybe he would.  
  
Sasuke mentally wondered if he should ask the same questions from before, but decided against it seeing as he already knew the answers, assumed the other two already knew them seeing as it was Naruto, the Rookie of the Year and Sakura, the regular know it all in anything theoric, and if they didn't know he didn't care enough to bug the grumpy Jonin into telling them.  
  
Icha Icha was so on his to do list …

* * *

Kakashi did not pause when he noticed the conspicuous puddle of water lying on the road, but that did not mean he did not notice it.  
  
A puddle on the road? It had not rained for days.  
  
His hand slowly reached for a kunai and he readied himself for a fight.

* * *

Sasuke had foreknowledge of the Demon Brothers' attack, of course, but what should he do? Naruto had frozen up with fear, in the original timeline; should he also? Or should he fight?  
  
His expression formed into somewhat of a smirk.  
  
Of course he would fight. What type of question was that?

* * *

Naruto narrowed his sapphire eyes. He knew something was off. That puddle back there; it wasn't a real one, was it? He gripped a kunai he had hidden in his pocket.  
  
He was no ordinary Genin, after all.  
  
He could fight.

* * *

Sakura felt uneasy. She couldn't state exactly why; something put her on edge, and she couldn't concentrate. But she would be ready.  
  
After all, she wasn't weak...  
  
Was she?

* * *

It all happened so quickly.  
  
Chains wrapped around Kakashi and tightened in on a mass of blood and flesh, breaking through with a sickening _crunch._  
  
"One down," a menacing voice called. The Demon Brothers were here.  
  
Sasuke knew he needed to act, and to act fast. "Sakura, guard Tazuna-san!" He ordered. Rushing at the two Chuunin, he drew out a dull kunai, mentally noting that he'd have to buy some new ones when he returned. He slashed at one's chained glove, forcing chakra in to the blade since it was so blunt it was almost useless. One end of the long chain snapped in half, then wrapping around  
the other Demon Brother. Sasuke, with a quick leap and a strong roundhouse kick, sent both of the brothers into a tree.  
  
And then it was done.  
  
The fight, the one Naruto was supposed to take part in, was over.  
  
And that - that _dobe_ \- had just hogged up all of the glory.  
  
How _dare_ he.  
  
Anger came before reason, in Naruto's case. All he saw was his missed opportunity, not the skill that Sasuke should not have had.  
  
"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" a breathless Sakura rushed up to the blond, unable to suppress her fangirlism. He shrugged her off, still seething over Sasuke's show.  
  
_He is worthy of my rivalry... When did that happen?_ Naruto found himself wondering to himself when the level of the fight and the one who had been fighting finally wormed its way through his answer.  
  
Sasuke was stronger than him. Sasuke of all people, was better than _he_ was. He was faster for one thing, having acted and dismantled their attackers before Naruto could even react. Still Sasuke had seemed disappointed with himself, as though he wasn't satisfied.  
  
He _would_ surpass the Uchiha, no matter what, and then go on to surpass his _Otou-san._  
  
 _I will surpass..._

* * *

Sasuke mentally kicked himself. He was supposed to be a Genin, the dead last of the Academy. How could he have revealed his talents - albeit only a slight fraction - of what he could do? And with Kakashi, the all-seeing Copy Nin Kakashi, there, it only secured the Hoakge's suspicions.  
  
After all, Genin weren't _supposed_ to be able to perform the Kaiten in mid-air.  
  
Genin weren't _supposed_ to be able to pinpoint Chuunins' positions.  
  
Genin weren't _supposed_ to be able to defeat Chuunin, _period_. And two of them at that.  
  
Sasuke sighed.  
  
He knew Kakashi was going to have a little "talk" with him when they reached the Country of the Wave.

* * *

Kakashi had not been killed, of course; ex-ANBU had more skill than that. As soon as he had seen the suspicious-looking puddle, he had gone on guard immediately. And when the Demon Brothers had appeared, he had performed kawamiri. The Demon Brothers were down, as he expected.  
  
But what he did not expect was Sasuke's sudden burst of power and skill. More so than what he had displayed during the bell test. Kakashi chalked that off to trying to lower his skill so that he was on par with Naruto and in so doing was working together with him and meeting the teamwork requirement.  
  
Suddenly the boy improved in less than a split second - and took down the two Chuunin singlehandedly.  
  
Something told him Sasuke had been hiding his skill for quite some time. Perhaps even since Kakashi had met him. How could he have missed it? The nervous glances, the sudden changes, the incident at the Uchiha compound, his unexpected aced final exam.  
  
_Has he unlocked the Sharingan yet, I wonder?_  
  
He wanted answers.  
  
And when Hatake Kakashi wanted answers, he wouldn't stop until he got them.

* * *

"Tazuna-san."  
  
The bridge builder looked up in a mix of annoyance, apprehensiveness, and fear.  
  
 _Fear at being discovered, Kakashi thought. So I am right._  
  
"You may be wondering why I left my Genin team to fight the Demon Brothers." _Which they - or rather, Sasuke - handled quite well,_ Kakashi added silently. The bridge builder made no implication that he did. "I had to see who they were after, since it could have been me, a Jonin with a rather large bounty on his head, it could have been Naruto, given his parentage, and it could have been Sasuke for a number of reason. And then, lastly, it could have been you." His onyx, all-perceptive eyes seemed to stare straight through Tazuna, who gave an involuntary shudder. "Why were the Demon Brothers after you?"  
  
Kakashi's tone left no room for protests, and Tazuna decided honesty would be his best policy. He sighed. "For a long time, Gatou - I'm sure you know who he is -"  
  
"Who is he, sensei?" Sakura interrupted.  
  
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Gatou, a wealthy businessman. I've known about him since he first came into power."  
  
Sakura mouthed a silent 'oh' and motioned Tazuna to continue on. He cleared his throat. "Well, as I was saying..."

* * *

Mist was not uncommon in the Country of the Wave. Clearly the name of the land stated so. But _this_ mist... It was odd. Not quite wet, far too thick - and a certain tingly feeling which made Kakashi on guard.  
  
Also was the fact that the entire mist had formed in less than a minute. A glance at Sasuke only strengthened his tension, since the supposed genin was more on guard than he was. While he was suspicious, Sasuke was expectant, like he knew something they did not.  
  
"Hatake Kakashi, also known as the Second White Fang of Konoha." A deep voice, slightly muffled by cloths. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the name, adding it to his list of differences.  
  
He knew that man. That zanbanto, there was only one like it. "Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist."  
  
"I'm honoured that you know me."  
  
The voice came from another part of the mist. Inwardly, Kakashi hit himself for detaining the blindfolded training he had meant to do. He depended far too much on his eyes, but in this mist they were near useless.  
  
But Kakashi - one of the best - was not going to back down at all. He was ex-ANBU, and still had  
some of his pride to retain. "If you know me, Zabuza, then you should know my background. Do you wish to challenge one of Konoha's best?"  
  
Hollow laughter. "Your bark is worse than your bite, for those who have not much bite tend to bark louder. Isn't that right, Kakashi?" More laughter mocked Kakashi.  
  
"I see you will not back down."  
  
"Do not try to stop me. All I need to do is kill that old man over there and my job will be done. But if you get in the way..." the voice trailed off.  
  
Kakashi responded by dropping into his regular fighting stance.  
  
"I see there is no way to stop you."  
  
An eyebrow-less man's face came into view.  
  
"Then let us see who is the stronger."

* * *

Namikaze Minato, though his duties as the Yondaime Hokage were taxing, liked to relax every once in a while. He had come to name paperwork as his number one enemy, and the best way he knew how to relieve himself of the stress was to get some ramen to eat. Ramen did always taste good.  
  
Especially Ichiraku's ramen.  
  
He strolled into the small ramen stand, smiling and waving at the bewildered customers and the delighted cooks Teuchi and Ayame. Minato was not wearing his robes; after acquiring his position, he found - much to his dismay - that the robes were rather stuffy and hot, so he ditched them whenever he could.  
  
"One bowl of beef ramen for me!" he ordered, giving his trademark lopsided grin at the prospect of his favourite food.  
  
Teuchi smiled and shook his head. Some things never changed. "Coming right up," he replied, disappearing into the back of the stand to make some of the delicious ramen.  
  
Ayame handed Minato a glass of water, blushing slightly as she did so. After all, it wasn't every day that the Yondaime came to Ichiraku's.  
  
A small smile graced Minato's lips. He couldn't wait for his ramen. It was his favourite food in the world, aside from Kushina's cooking but … that was a painful topic.  
  
Absentmindedly, Minato wondered if Kakashi and Team 7 were faring well. Genin were not supposed to take C-ranked missions, after all, but on a whim he had let them. _Was it the right decision?_ He wondered. But then smiling to himself, Minato took a sip of water. They'd be fine, he knew that. His student, Hatake Kakashi, the second White Fang, was on their team, as well as Sasuke, the Kyuubi no gaki, and   
  
Minato's smile faltered. Naruto. His son.  
  
He couldn't describe his feelings about his son. Lately, the two had been arguing even more so than before. In fact, almost every time Minato and Naruto met, there was often a petty argument between the two. It was as if they were _obligated_ to argue.  
  
Minato missed the days when he would come home from the Hokage's office to be greeted by an  
exuberant Naruto. He could see a messy blond-haired, sparkling sapphire-eyed boy running up to him as fast as those short legs could run... But Naruto was all grown up now, already a ninja.  
  
And a great rift had formed between them. A rift he wasn't even entirely sure he knew how it had formed.  
  
He partly blamed it on the excessive paperwork that had increased over the last few years. More and more Minato found himself at the office instead of at home. _If I were working at home instead of at the office, would we still be so far apart?_ he wondered.  
  
Minato's hands gripped the clay cup as he wandered in his thoughts. And he would've lifted it to his lips, but   
  
Sapphire eyes snapped back to reality as his ears picked up a low, but distinguishable sound. The blue orbs shifted their gaze to the painted cup in his hands.  
  
Water spilled out of a jagged crack on the cup's side.  
  
An involuntary chill ran up Minato's spine. His eyes widened in horror. _An omen... Naruto. No, no, how could this be?_ He stared at the cup, a few drops of water slowly dripping out. _Their C-ranked mission..._ He drew a sharp breath in panic.  
  
The cup crashed to the counter. Ayame, hearing the noise, swirled around   
  
But where Minato had been there was now an empty seat, the chill of the night air as the entrance curtain flurried about   
  
And a cracked clay cup surrounded by a small pool of water.

* * *

Zabuza, the infamous Demon of the Mist, lunged forward from his place on the shore with every intention to kill Kakashi. With a huge zanbatou gripped in both hands, he leaped up above the small group. He could see Tazuna, and a bloodthirsty gleam shone in his eyes. _Tazuna_ , he thought as he descended, _you're mine!_  
  
Of course, a certain Leaf Jonin had different plans.  
  
"Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto!" Kakashi ordered, his eyes never leaving Zabuza, "Guard Tazuna! Swatsika form!" The three Genin immediately formed the familiar guarding stance. Sasuke knew of a few other stances which would be more defensive, but he knew this was hardly the time to argue and hardly the time to educate his fellow teammates either.  
  
Kakashi's onyx eyes flashed with the thought of a challenge. It had been quite some time since he had had a battle with a worthy opponent...  
  
A flash of steel temporarily blinded Zabuza as Kakashi drew his chakra blade. It was sleek, and had kanji running up both sides of the blade. A rough cloth was wrapped around its hilt for traction. As the silver-haired Jonin grasped it, Sasuke noticed a white chakra dance its way up the blade. _That chakra must be the Hatake's Kekkei Genkai,_ he realized, grateful he had read through Kabuto's information book. A Kekkei Genkai that Kakashi had never been able to use in his world because he'd never had the chakra to spare seeing as the Sharingan had always been so taxing. Did this mean that Kakashi did not have the Sharingan, did this confirm something Sasuke had begun to suspect?  
  
As Zabuza landed, Kakashi whipped around, ripping the missing-nin's body into half - only to find that the nin's body lost form and splashed onto the ground, merely a water clone. He turned away,  
as he had expected nothing less from an S-classed missing-nin.  
  
Naruto was shivering from the intense sakki being poured out. He had never been in a real battle before, and in the long run, it mattered not as much how a person trained, but how they reacted in battle. He was pale and shivering - barely holding onto the thin thread of hope that kept him from running away from the battle.  
  
Sakura only noticed a certain thickness in the air, as she found it hard to breathe, and a clench in her chest, but could not identify it as sakki.  
  
Sasuke was not shivering at all; rather, he had an odd feeling of strange enjoyment. Perhaps it was because of the lack of action in D-ranked missions. Orochimaru had often lashed out on some of his less fortunate subordinates and sometimes, that horrible sakki - a hundred times worse than this - had leaked out onto Sasuke. Which, resultantly, had given him a high tolerance for sakki. _That dobe better shape up least he attempt the same stunt I did last time around,_ Sasuke sneered to himself.  
  
Kakashi slid into a neutral stance as he surveyed the area around him. Zabuza was somewhere, he knew enough to know the former mist nin was not enough of a coward to flee at the beginning of battle. "Where are you, Zabuza?" Kakashi muttered, scanning the shores. He could see little in the thick fog blanketing the landscape, but tried anyway. _Right? No. Left? No. In front? No. Up? No. Behind-_  
  
Before Kakashi could respond, Zabuza had appeared in between him and his team, grinning maniacally. The nin, in one smooth stroke, swung his huge weapon towards Tazuna, where it prepared to behead both a pink-haired girl and a blond-haired boy. It drew closer, three feet - two feet - one foot remaining   
  
As quick as a flash, Sasuke was in the path of the zanbatou. His bangs fell out of his eyes, revealing a flash of red, but it was gone before anyone could be really sure and with the mist so think, it only further added to the uncertainty.  
  
Kakashi's eye widened in horror at the situation, but he couldn't do anything. Except watch his student be killed.  
  
A clash of steel was heard.  
  
Sasuke was gripping a kunai and was _single-handedly_ blocking Zabuza's huge zanbatou. Sweat dripped down the Uchiha's forehead, but he was still smirking, displaying yet another jump in his skill.  
  
Zabuza's eyes widened. He was putting his full weight behind his sword, and yet - that _Genin_ was blocking it? With _one kunai?!_  
  
_Either the Uchiha is exceptional, or training in Konoha has gotten tougher... or I'm getting weaker..._  
  
Leaping away, Zabuza thought over the matter. Originally, he was going to attack the Jonin, deeming him the greatest threat, and then slowly finish off the Genin. After that, Tazuna would fall. But now, he was rethinking his strategy. He realized that Uchiha Genin could now be one of his larger threats, as he had just pushed off the zanbatou as though it were something pitiful. _How dare he!_ Zabuza thought. _His eyes drifted to the trees. Haku, you'd better be noting all of this... because that kid is most definitely not normal._  
  
Sasuke smirked. "Are you ready to play now, Zabuza?" he cocked his head challenging, mocking the nuke-nin into a state of further enragement.  
  
Kakashi wanted to cry out, to say, _Don't! He's one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist! I don't want to lose one of my team on the first C-ranked mission we go on!_ But his words stuck in his throat. A part of him felt that Sasuke would be able to handle this.  
  
Sasuke was smirking on the outside, but inwardly he was seething. _How could I have done that? I can't continue this much more. I keep on accidentally giving more and more of my skill away. Kakashi'd better hurry up and help..._  
  
Right after he thought that, Kakashi leapt towards Zabuza with his chakra blade drawn. Zabuza easily blocked it with his huge zanbatou, but Kakashi, who had expected this, took out a kunai and slashed Zabuza's hand, the one that was holding the zanbatou, rendering it useless. Strangely enough, Zabuza laughed. "You think you're so smart, Kakashi, don't you?" To this Kakashi did not reply, but Zabuza grinned. "Too bad for you I can wield my zanbatou with my left hand, as well." Kakashi's one eye widened a fraction, but then resumed its determined look. Zabuza continued, grinning as he slowly pushed the silver-haired Jonin back, inch by inch. "Can you do the same, Kakashi?"  
  
Kakashi's eye widened and he jumped back as Zabuza swung his zanbatou with his left hand. Knowing he could not beat his opponent in taijutsu since that sword would never allow him to get close enough, Kakashi quickly formed some seals and put one of his gloved hands to his mask. Blowing, Kakashi let out a large fire dragon, which roared and twisted as if alive. _Katon: Karyuu Endan!_  
  
Zabuza dodged the dragon with ease, and it crashed into a tree, setting it ablaze. The swordsman was unfazed. In fact, he still kept that odd look of eagerness and cruelty in his eyes. "Is that really all you can do?" he mocked. "I am _so_ disappointed."  
  
Again, Kakashi said nothing. He had expected the Demon of the Mist to dodge the attack, but perhaps not the chakra signature behind him, in the forest. That signature had dodged quickly as well. Kakashi's expression darkened. _There is another Shinobi in the woods. Judging from their speed, I'd say Chunin or even a Jonin._  
  
"You cannot defeat me. Even the elite Jonin of Mist could not defeat me, and they, I believe, are so much more powerful than you _Konoha_ Shinobi."  
  
Kakashi held his chakra blade, which was still glowing a faint white. That attack had taken a considerable amount of chakra, but not too much. He could still fight, and would not show any weaknesses. "Then perhaps, Zabuza," there was no need for any honorific here, "you are underestimating us."  
  
The Konoha Jonin disappeared and reappeared behind Zabuza. He thrust his sword forward, but was blocked by the huge zanbatou. Coursing more chakra into the blade to keep it from cracking in half, Kakashi pressed on, but suddenly dropped to his knees. Zabuza, losing his balance, toppled forward, but stabilized himself in time. Kakashi, though, gave him no time to act.  
  
Sliding behind the missing-nin, the Jonin struck Zabuza on the back of the head and then, using two of his fingers, pressed a pressure point which rendered the swordsman unconcious. _Pitiful._ Kakashi thought. _He obviously underestimated me._  
  
Suddenly, three senbon flew out of the woods on their right side, puncturing his hand that was gripping Zabuza's neck. Startled, Kakashi let go of the man and a hunter-nin appeared. The strange nin lifted Zabuza onto his shoulder and said in a surprisingly cold voice, "You have no place here. I was promised to kill Zabuza, and I shall. He has taken everything away from me, and  
I want my revenge." The hunter-nin pointed behind them with one free hand. "Go. I wish for my revenge alone."  
  
Casting a suspicious glance at the limp form of the missing-nin, Kakashi turned around and quietly told the frightened Genin, sans an annoyed and slightly relieved? Sasuke and Tazuna, "Let's go." He knew something about this situation didn't add up but his mind was focused on his own team and how a certain someone had been far, far too efficient in this little scuffle.  
  
After the five Konoha Shinobi had left, the missing-nin took off his mask. "The silver-haired one rendered Zabuza-san unconscious," he muttered. "and he will pay for it."  



	5. 【章五】

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is doing healthy and ok! Make sure to wash hands regularly or use hand sanitizer! Stay indoors as much and as long as you can, if you need to leave to go outside for whatever reason, make sure to wear a mask, and gloves. If you don't have access to masks, you can always be creative and use fabric or clothing of some sort and turn them into a mask (Balaclava) or any sort of mouth and nose protection! :D

**Chapter 5**  
  
"And here," Tazuna motioned grandly, "Is my house!"  
  
Sasuke resisted the urge to twitch his eyes and rubbed his head. Lately he had been getting massive headaches, and it often shorted his tolerance. Tazuna's house was surprisingly small for the one whose bridge would ultimately save the Wave Country from both poverty and Gatou. In fact, he had seen storage houses bigger than this. But apparently, the man did not think of his domain as small. Sasuke knew, once again, better than the members of his team, just what it was going to be like living with Tazuna.  
  
"Well, just take any ol' room! The ones upstairs will do!"  
  
Sasuke followed Naruto and Sakura up the stairs. _Tomorrow_ , he thought, _We'll train, right? Tree climbing._ He snorted, earning a suspicious glance from Naruto and Sakura. _That's just a waste of my time and right now, with this damned headache I don't even have the patience to pretend that it is._  
  
He dreaded the next day already.

* * *

"You'll all die."  
  
Silence reigned at the dinner table as Inari, Tazuna's grandson, spoke. The three Genin and one Jonin processed the pessimism slowly. Sasuke continued eating his rice, knowing his comment wasn't needed this time. Inari, to him, was a useless, pitiful boy. He had no need to change the boy's views at all. Besides, he wasn't Naruto, no matter the urges he was now feeling to tell the boy off for being such a pessimistic cry baby.  
  
Sakura and Naruto said nothing; Naruto was indifferent to the boy's opinion and Sakura was slightly concerned, but not enough to speak up. Kakashi said nothing; it was hard to determine if the Jonin was pleased or annoyed - after all, most of his face was covered up. Sasuke still had a better idea than most, seeing as he'd spent an entire month with the man, but this Kakashi was different so he supposed he was on the same page as everyone else.  
  
Which reminded Sasuke - why hadn't Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate up and revealed the Sharingan? Did he not have it? Or was Zabuza too weak for him to feel the need to use it? Kakashi had really, almost been toying with the nuke-nin the whole fight. He hadn't ended up in a water prison and he hadn't dropped from exhaustion afterwards. Had the Sharingan always been that taxing? _That's something I'll have to ask him later,_ he decided, _In a Naruto-ish way._ He already dreaded it.  
  
"It's useless against Gatou." Sasuke sighed. This kid had his priorities skewed if he thought a mere civilian could stand up to a Shinobi. Even a genin could take Gatou down. What made the man any different was his ability to manipulate those around him into doing his bidding with the promise of money.  
  
_Inari is annoying_ , Sasuke thought. _He keeps implying that we are not good enough. That we cannot defeat Gatou. That Wave Country is doomed forever._ He snorted. _At least I want to do something about Itachi. This boy will do nothing. He is nothing, compared to me._  
  
That urge to yell at the kid had grown, so much so that even as he was in his world, he would have reacted to the kid. It didn't help matters that Naruto was so quiet and that Kakashi wasn't even reacting. That headache was also growing and it seemed to be directly related to all the times he ignored the urge to do something Naruto-ish.  
  
He stood up abruptly, slamming his fists onto the table. "So that's it, then. You're just going to give up? Listen, Inari! _Nothing_ will happen if you do _nothing!"_ It was strange. _Where did that come from? Why am I doing this? I can't - control - Why - No, don't keep on going_ \- "At least I'll _do_ something! You might as well just keep on crying, Inari. You _crybaby!"_  
  
He breathed hard from his outburst while the others just stared at him. Sasuke's eyes were wide with confusion and anger, at the same time. _Why did I just do that? That's not... me... is it?_ He dashed out the door, his dropped chopsticks clattering on the bowl.  
  
Inari stared after him, an odd expression of shock on his face. He ran upstairs, not answering the concerned calls his mother, Tsunami, gave.  
  
Kakashi stared at the closed door. _So, is this the real Sasuke or not, because, right there, in that moment, he acted more like the genin he should be than the genin he was?_

* * *

Sasuke ran.  
  
He wanted to get away.  
  
Into the forest, into the safety of the trees. Away from this strange and confusing world. Away from the emo Naruto _who never smiled_ , away from the obsessive Sakura _who treated him like nothing_ , away from the stern Kakashi _who was always on time._  
  
Away from the curse. Away from the Kyuubi inside of him.  
  
But you couldn't run from that which ran with you. This world, whatever it was, was it changing him? He was still him, wasn't he? He still hated orange and despised ramen. He still wanted to clobber Naruto … only now, he wanted to do it because he was too quiet, too moody.  
  
_Why did I do that? Why did I just lose my emotions like that - How could... I'm not really like that, am I? Is seeing my teammates again affecting my views? Have I really gone insane?_ He rubbed his temples, confused. His words rang in his mind.  
  
 _"You're just going to give up?"_ He swallowed.  
  
_"Listen up, Inari!_ Nothing _will happen if you do_ nothing! _"_ Exclamation points? Since when had he ever used _exclamation points?_ He **never** showed more emotion than a slight annoyance.  
  
No. That wasn't him, was it? That was not Uchiha Sasuke, the one specially trained by Orochimaru. That was the Naruto-ish Sasuke.   
  
_Naruto-ish._  
  
That was it. His eyes widened in realization.  
  
 _Naruto-ish._  
  
He was merging with the Sasuke of this world.  
  
It explained the recent headaches, after all. Their interests were merging and so were their attitudes, thoughts, etcetera.  
  
Wait. Interests.  
  
Orange.  
  
_Neon_ orange.  
  
That was _so_ not fair. Sasuke tried to imagine the colour, and found - much to his horror - that it did not seem as bad a colour as he had originally thought. _I am_ not _going to wear orange._ _Ne, I'll look like a Halloween trick-or-treater._ He stopped. _Ne. Since when did I start saying 'ne?'_  
  
He kicked at a rock on the ground. This was not helping him. How the hell did he stop this? He had to remain true to who he was or else who knew how bad this could get. Were his skills going to deteriorate?  
  
Kick, kick.  
  
"Sasuke."  
  
Kakashi. Someone he really did not want to see right now. That lone eye would be too serious, too blunt. This was not _his_ Kakashi. Sasuke turned his head to look at his sensei, that wasn't _his_ sensei. The Jonin stared back with unblinking eyes and stated, "Quite a show you put on back there."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"You've been acting strangely since you left the Academy."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Iruka-san says you passed the exam with flying colours."  
  
"Do you want me to comment? I did well, so what? Why is this suddenly a problem? Besides, bunshin is a laughable jutsu."  
  
"You asked the Hokage to switch you to my team."  
  
"And? I thought I'd already explained this. You are the Jonin sensei best suited to my skills."  
  
_He's being strangely defensive,_ Kakashi mused. _I know of one more question to ask._ "You stopped Zabuza's zanbatou with one kunai."  
  
"So? I've been training -"  
  
But he never finished. Sasuke suddenly felt himself slammed against a tree. For a moment, the air was knocked out of him and he couldn't breathe. Kakashi's hand was over his neck and in the Jonin's other hand was a razor-sharp kunai, pressed onto his jugular. "What is it, Kakashi?" Sasuke stated calmly, trying not to lose his cool facade. He had no idea what this Kakashi was capable of. At first, he'd deluded himself into believing that being on Team 7 would be just like before, but it wasn't. This wasn't his world and this wasn't his team.  
  
The Jonin's onyx eye flashed. "Address me as Kakashi-sensei. I am your superior."  
  
Sasuke wanted to snort at the irony - the Kakashi in the other world had allowed him to call him that - but realized it would be useless to resist. Besides, why call the man sensei when he was holding a kunai to his throat? Clearly the man was suspicious about him being his student. However, as much as he hated to admit it, Kakashi - even the lazy one - was stronger than he was… _currently._ This body was still not where he was previously and he'd only been doing so well because of the little tricks he already knew and his knowledge on chakra control. "Fine, _Kakashi-sensei_. What is it?"  
  
"You are not Sasuke."  
  
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow mockingly. "What, you're doubting your vision now? Aren't I right in front of you?"  
  
Kakashi spoke and with every accusation, Sasuke added his own mental reply, knowing that verbalising it would only make it worse. "You passed the exam with flying colours. _(What was wrong with a little skill? Honestly, you'd think they wanted him to fail?)_ You asked the Hokage to switch the teams. _(And he'd given a perfectly logical explanation for it.)_ You no longer have a crush on Sakura. _(Who would with the way she treated him?)_ You have not tried to prove yourself to Naruto. _(No point, I'm already stronger than him and he knows it.)_ You mentioned something about the future while talking to my sensei. _(Huh? I did? All I asked was to be on your team. Then again you hadn't given the test to your team yet.)_ You outran the Hokage's personal ANBU. _( Again, really wasn't all that hard. Besides they were underestimating me.)_ You performed a move that should not be possible, in my test. _(Well his test wasn't all that special Sasuke thought moodily. Arrogant wasn't he?)_ You single-handedly blocked Zabuza's zanbanto. _(Okay, that one was justified.)_ I have reasons as to why I think you are not Sasuke, the dead last of the Academy. _(Well duh.)"_  
  
 _Still … Darn... How will I explain myself out of this one?_

* * *

 _I know it's in here somewhere,_ Minato rummaged through various objects Sarutobi had gotten over his Hokage years. He pulled out a stuffed fox and stared at it. _Huh, didn't know Sarutobi liked foxes…But it sure is cute._ He set it aside. _Maybe I can give that to Naruto when he comes back – but he doesn't really like foxes… How about Sasuke-kun? That reminds me. I have a job to get done._  
  
He blew some dust bunnies out of the way. _I suppose Sarutobi didn't really go through these often. It's really amazing how much he has._  
  
Minato stuck his hand in the huge drawer, sifting around for any spherical item. Mentally, he sighed; he knew he would have to clean his hands and his coat off later. And he had just washed it, too. His fingers brushed against glass.  
  
_Aha! I found it…_  
  
He pulled out a large transparent ball which was connected to a painted wooden stand. This crystal ball was really quite handy and somewhat scary all things considered. Where the heck had the Sandaime gotten it? Wiping the crystal clean with his sleeve (and mentally sighing again), Minato channelled some chakra into it. _That should do it…_  
  
 _Now, show me Naruto._  
  
The ball whirred to life, colours dancing around inside. Then, they stopped. It was a fuzzy picture, and this crystal ball was admittedly not the best one he'd seen, but it was enough. It showed Naruto eating dinner silently, his usual emotionless facade set on his face. Minato felt both relieved and disappointed; Naruto, his son, was safe, but apparently his behaviour had made no change. He had hoped that having Kakashi-kun as his jonin sensei would make him a little happier.  
  
_I can meet up with him when he comes back. Now, show me Sakura._

He did not know the pink-haired girl personally, only that she was a rabid fan of his son's, but took some slight interest in her. Minato had heard she was at the top of her grade in the intelligence department, though often her intelligence escaped her around Naruto. Sakura appeared to be in the same room with Naruto, and also sullenly eating her dinner. Why so morbid?  
  
_Next, Sasuke-kun. He's been acting strangely; I wonder if he's back to normal now._  
  
The crystal ball seemed to shiver for a moment, then the colours began dancing again. Minato's eyes widened in shock. Sasuke was being pressed against a tree, a hand firmly gripping his neck and a kunai to his throat. He was saying something, but the Yondaime's mind couldn't register the words. _That is Kakashi's glove. Kakashi – or someone wearing his glove – is threatening Sasuke-kun._  
  
_Show me Kakashi! Now, ball!_  
  
Again, the colours whirred; this time, it seemed as if Kakashi was holding someone up by the neck. Minato could see the handle of a kunai in his hand. _No… it can't be…_  
  
_Show me Sasuke-kun and Kakashi. Please, don't let it be so…_  
  
The ball's colours shifted. To Minato's horror, Kakashi was holding Sasuke up by the neck and had a kunai pressed against his jugular, confirming what he'd known to be true anyways.  
  
His jugular. It was pressed against his jugular, which could only mean one thing.  
  
Kakashi was prepared to kill at a moment's notice.  
  
_No… Kakashi-kun wouldn't do this… He doesn't hate the Kyuubi no Gaki. Does he? I didn't think he was biased against Sasuke-kun due to his Jinchuriki status. Would he really… kill Sasuke-kun?_  
  
_Enhance hearing. Now._  
  
"… Kakashi. I am your superior."  
  
 _What could that mean? That tells me nothing!_  
  
"Fine, _Kakashi-sensei._ What is it?"  
  
_That is not Sasuke-kun's voice… It is too cruel, impatient, too… well, as much as I hate to admit it, too Naruto-ish._  
  
"You are not Sasuke."  
  
Minato breathed out in relief. So Kakashi-kun was not going to kill the boy because of the Kyuubi; simply, his old student was suspicious. And when his old student was suspicious, he usually got his answers. Meaning, Sasuke would not be killed … at least until Kakashi-kun got his answers.  
  
"… I have my reasons as to why I think you are not Sasuke, the dead last of the Academy."  
  
His ears perked up.  
  
Minato watched the scene in the glass ball with interest and worry. Though he was confident (fine, admittedly _fairly_ confident) that there would be no bloodshed, Kakashi still had his kunai over the boy's jugular vein and was not displaying any intention of removing it anytime soon.  
  
"Hokage-sama?"

"Aahh!"  
  
Surprised, Minato dropped the crystal ball and it crashed into the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces. He and the unfortunate secretary who had just entered the room stared at the pieces on the floor as though suddenly struck stupid and were trying to process the sight of the broken crystal. Such a crucial moment . . . T_T  
  
"Akito-san..." Minato stated in a perfectly even voice.  
  
"... Hokage-sama?"  
  
"Next time... _knock_... will you?" Would that have even made it better?  
  
"Gomen! Gomen! I didn't mean to, Hokage-sama - _aahh!"_  
  
Minato spent the rest of the evening chasing one unlucky chuunin. Someone was getting demoted.

* * *

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously, but he suppressed his urge to torture, maim, and kill Kakashi right there and then. He resisted the urge to bite his lip in agitation. "Why don't you put me down first, Kakashi- _sensei?"_  
  
Kakashi's coal eye narrowed. "You could be a spy, for all I know. How can I trust you?"  
  
Sasuke cocked his head. "I'm not answering until you put me down. Besides, don't you have more faith in your own abilities?"  
  
"And I won't put you down until you answer me." Seemed he wasn't going to answer the question about his abilities. ANBU were a bitch in these types of situations.  
  
Thus began a war of stares.  
  
Onyx eyes bore into a coal black eye, and neither person seemed to relent. Each's eyes were stony hard, glittering with determination and silent fury. The night seemed to chill dramatically; only the echoing howl of the wind filled their ears.  
  
It seemed for a moment that the Sharingan would flash in Sasuke's eyes. A pressure had formed behind his pupils, though he was desperately trying not to let it surface. It wouldn't do to give Kakashi another question to ask. So far he'd managed to keep the Sharingan hidden and he wanted to keep it that way.  
  
He could feel the Jonin's fingers digging into his flesh. The cool nails pressed into his neck, feel the rough almost denim like material against the sensitive skin and felt the urge to claw it off, felt the heat of Kakashi's skin against his own and he suddenly found it hard to breathe. He couldn't swallow, he could barely breathe   
  
"Fine, I'll tell you." _Not everything, though._  
  
Kakashi cocked his head. "Go on." His voice was still as cold as ice, though Sasuke could tell - by the lessening of the lines on the side of his eye - he was pleased. He thought he'd won.  
  
"It all started with the Kyuubi..." _No, it didn't_ , said a voice in Sasuke's head; but he pushed that thought aside.  
  
"... I first heard a voice in my head the day before the Graduating Exam..." _It wasn't a voice at all._  
  
"... and it was the Kyuubi. He told me about the sealing..." _You've never met the Kyuubi._  
  
"... and because of this, I started to act differently. I mean there was a strange voice in my head, an angry voice of pure hatred. Who wouldn't act a little different after something like that informed them that their whole life had been a lie." _It was never that._  
  
"I never told the Yondaime because I thought he would be angry... I don't even want him to be angry with me. He's one of the only people that actually likes me." _Yondaime has never gotten angry at you._  
  
"So I kept it a secret. What else could I do? He already knew about the Kyuubi, everyone did. So it wasn't like I was keeping things to myself."  
  
Sasuke was perfectly aware that this explanation did not match with the one he had given the Yondaime but it appeared that Kakashi had not been informed of his previous explanation. He was also aware this this explanation did not explain an increase in skill, just a change in attitude.  
  
Kakashi's grip did not falter throughout the whole explanation, and for a moment Sasuke thought the Jonin would not release him at all. But he felt the icy grip on his neck loosen and he fell to the ground, weak from the lack of oxygen. "I'll believe your story for now, Sasuke." Kakashi said, "Not a word to the others about this, do you hear?" Sasuke nodded. He wouldn't have told the others, anyway. It's not like it would've made a different to them anyway. He would still be Sasuke the dobe.  
  
"Sensei?"  
  
Sakura stood at the edge of the forest, uncertain as to what was happening. For once, she was concerned about her other teammate. Naruto stood close by her, but not too close. He had his arms crossed over his chest in an obviously displeased way. They had just seen their sensei release Sasuke, and now had their doubts as to whose side their Jonin was on.  
  
Kakashi's expression calmed and Sasuke tilted his head to the side. Did this Kakashi care more than what he let on? Did he actually care about what they thought? "Sakura, it's fine. We were just having a little talk." He glanced at Sasuke, who was still kneeling on the ground.  
  
Naruto snorted. "Sure, and the dobe's gasping for breath just for the fun of it." His sapphire eyes flashed. "What were you two talking about?" _Obviously something important for it to end this way..._  
  
Sasuke stood up with a scowl. "Nothing. We were talking about nothing. Besides, I let Kakashi- _sensei_ slam me against a tree. Made his ego feel better."  
  
The Jonin glared at Sasuke. A glare that promised great bodily harm yet he did not act out again, at least not with the other two there.  
  
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura hesitated before continuing, "Secrets shouldn't be kept from teammates, right? Why can't you tell us?"  
  
The silver-haired shrugged in what would seem like a careless manner. "It was nothing. S-classed secret. Absolutely nothing..."  
  
"S-classed secret? _Nani?"_ Sakura exclaimed indignantly. "If it's that important, you have to tell us!" Even Naruto looked interested.  
  
Sasuke shook his head. "Baka," he said, "If it's S-classed, it means you have no clearance to hear it."  
  
"But neither do you!"  
  
"Idiots," they glared at the insult and Sasuke felt a twinge of guilt. Here they were, showing some concern for him and he was insulting them, "Didn't you think it might _include_ me?"  
  
Sakura frowned, turning to their sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, why would an S-classed secret include _him?"_ Her nose wrinkled in disgust. Ah, there was the reason he shouldn't feel guilty for insulting them. Naruto narrowed his eyes, clearly echoing the same views.  
  
"It doesn't matter, and anyway, we should head back to Tazuna-san's house. We're supposed to be protecting him and out here we're doing a rather poor job of it." Kakashi's statement left no room for arguments, and Team 7 walked back to the house, though Sakura and Naruto kept on giving Sasuke strange glances.  
  
Sasuke was in a foul mood; he had just had an argument with all three of his teammates. How was he supposed to make bonds, again? This new Kakashi was also a fricken headache. He was too much like Sasuke. People said opposites attract and if that was the case they had three fricken negatives on the same team, all of them repelling the other. This wasn't going to work out unless one of them became the positive that attracted the negative.  
  
But that had always been Naruto, not Sasuke. He had to make a choice here. Keep this up and possibly lose his team, again, or make the conscious effort to keep them around. But that just wasn't him. He wasn't Naruto. He was just as much of a negative as they were. So where did that leave him?

* * *

 **-the next day-**  
  
"We're going to learn how to do tree climbing." Kakashi's voice rang over the clearing, the only background sounds bird calls and rustling leaves.  
  
"But sensei," Sakura protested, "We already know how to climb trees!"  
  
Naruto nodded. "We can already climb trees."  
  
"That may be so," Kakashi shrugged, "but do you know how to without using your hands?"  
  
Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes. Kakashi took notice of this, and, irritation getting the better of him, asked, "Well, since Sasuke here already knows how to do this exercise, let's watch him climb the tree."  
  
Naruto and Sakura were glowering at Sasuke, and he smirked. "Hai." And with that, he began to walk up the tree with ease.  
  
_This is great,_ Sasuke thought. _I don't have to hide my abilities anymore - excluding the Hebi's own jutsu_ \- _because I can blame it on the fox._ He smirked. _I guess that was good for something. Still, anyone smarter or more knowledgeable about bijus would know that they don't give sudden boosts in skill, not like my supposed ones at any rate._  
  
"What!" Sakura pointed indignantly at the Uchiha. "How can you possibly know that?! You are the dead last of the Academy! How do you know that?!"  
  
"Yeah, dobe," Naruto narrowed his eyes, "How do you know that exercise already?" Naruto especially had taken to watching him very closely since the previous night, as though with enough observation he could learn what Sasuke's S-class secret was.  
  
Sasuke smirked. "Be careful of who you call _dobe_ , teme," he reached the highest sturdy branch, " 'Cause unless you improve drastically, I'll have to start calling _you_ that." He swung, upside down, on the branch, enjoying the looks the other two Genin were giving him.  
  
Kakashi crossed his arms. "Since Sasuke already knows it, I'll have to move him onto a different exercise. Meanwhile, you two try it. Focus chakra onto the soles of your feet to stick onto the tree. Use a kunai to mark your progress. Too much chakra and you'll only be repelled off of the tree, too little and it won't stick." He glanced at the upside-down Uchiha. "And you, Sasuke, follow me."  
  
Sasuke ran down the tree with ease; it was much easier to go with gravity than to go against. "Hai, Kakashi- _sensei._ " Every time he addressed the Jonin after that little conversation the night before, he added a special emphasis to the sensei part, giving the impression that he was silently mocking the Jonin. The two Shinobi left the clearing and the two Genin with Kakashi giving Sasuke a glare.  
  
"So," Sakura started, "I guess it's just you and me, Naruto-kun?" She smiled sweetly.  
  
Naruto's expression darkened, and he turned to a tree. Focusing his chakra to the soles of his feet, like his sensei had said, he ran towards the tree. Twenty feet or so up the tree, he gave it a slash with his kunai and back flipped off of it, realizing his feet were quickly losing hold on the tree. _I will not be second to that loser!_ He thought angrily. _How come he is so advanced already? I'm supposed to be better than him!_  
  
"Hey, Naruto-kun!"  
  
He turned around, eyes widening at the sight. Sakura sat on the highest branch in her tree already. She waved to him. "I already got to the top! How about you?"  
  
He did not reply, instead turning his back to her and smashing his fist against his tree, muttering every profanity he could possibly think of.

* * *

"So, Sasuke," Kakashi started, turning around to face the boy when they had gotten to a pond. "I take it then, you already know this exercise, too?"  
  
"Water walking?" Sasuke asked. He smirked. "Of course."  
  
Kakashi narrowed his eye. "I see," he muttered. "Well then," he took out a kunai and tossed it up and down. "I have to re-evaluate you." He caught the kunai and slid into an offensive stance. "Fight me."  
  
Sasuke snorted. "A Jonin against a Genin? How unfair." But he slid into an offensive stance as well - not the Dance of the Snake, though. That stance was practically _outlawed_ in Konoha, because of its infamous creator. He may agree to show Kakashi some of his skill, but he wouldn't show all of it. Besides, half of his arsenal of tricks would garner far too many questions.  
  
"Perhaps so," Kakashi said lightly, "but we are not going for blood. I'm only evaluating you."  
  
"Sometimes there is no difference between the two."  
  
"To some people, but I am not one of those people." Yeah right. Sasuke had steadily been pissing the man off ever since he'd passed them and made them his genin team. This was going to be an official way of taking out those frustrations on the genin.  
  
Sasuke had no answer for this, so he took out a kunai as well. His feet were far apart, and his knees were roughly on the same level, though he had his weight on the front one for offensive purposes. One of his hands was in front of him, palm down, while the other was in front of his  
chest, vertical.  
  
Kakashi narrowed his eye; that stance... where had he seen that stance before? He couldn't remember. Kakashi shrugged it off; that stance, whatever it was, would do no good against his stance. His stance was almost like the Hyuuga's Jyuuken stance. He could quickly strike unprotected places, causing the opponent to lose their balance. That stance was only good for blocking fists and kicks. Though... when he had seen that stance before, the forward hand was also vertical like the hand in front of the chest. Sasuke's forward hand was palm down, a variation which Kakashi had not seen before.  
  
But the last thing he would do was underestimate his opponent.  
  
Sasuke cocked his head confidently. "Let's begin."  
  
So they did.  
  
Kakashi's and Sasuke's bodies blurred. Kakashi quickly threw some jabs with his hands, trying to catch Sasuke off balance, but found it was harder than he had imagined. Sasuke began to block the short thrusts with his open hand, and with his palm-down hand he began to push away the attacks. Then, Sasuke grabbed Kakashi's wrist with his left hand and dealt an open-handed blow to Kakashi's chest, though it did not do as much damage as it would have; the Chunin vest was too thick for the blow to actually hurt the Jonin.  
  
But the fact remained, Sasuke had managed to land a blow.  
  
Startled for a moment, Kakashi stumbled back, and Sasuke left no time for him to recover. The Uchiha roundhouse kicked at Kakashi's face, but the Jonin caught his oncoming ankle and used the momentum to throw Sasuke into the pond.  
  
Kakashi was starting to see where Obito's observations were coming from. That kick had been a sloppy attempt at the Uchiha style while the blow he'd landed previously had been somewhat what Kakashi would have done. He also seemed to almost be aware of Kakashi's fighting style already, blocking and countering moves almost on instinct.  
  
Having no time to focus chakra to his body, Sasuke plunged underneath the icy water. Kakashi watched a few bubbles float to the surface and grinned mentally. This boy was actually a challenge to him. Interesting.  
  
But this was only taijutsu, and the silver-haired Shinobi wondered how Sasuke would deal with ninjutsu.  
  
Suddenly, Kakashi heard a roar, and was on his toes in an instant. A huge dragon leaped out of the water, twisting and roaring as if actually alive. It reached a height of roughly fifty feet before descending. Kakashi managed to jump out of the way before it crashed into the ground, flooding the clearing around the pond. He covered his eye with his hand, shielding it from the stinging water.  
  
Sasuke surfaced the pond, gasping for breath. He climbed onto the surface of the water and smirked. Kakashi squinted; there was something in his hand. _No, wrapped... wrapped? Wire! Chakra wire... leading to... where the dragon had struck?_  
  
Kakashi's eye widened. There had been weapons in hidden in the dragon's body, and those weapons had chakra wire attached to them! He leaped away, jumping into a tree.  
  
Sasuke pulled on the chakra wire and saw the weapons move. _Now, if I could only get this to work..._ He began to swing the attached weapons around using the wire, much like one would swing a slingshot.  
  
Kakashi narrowed his eye; He needed to get that "slingshot" out of Sasuke's hands. It seemed as if the boy was capable enough of using the chakra wire to actually hurt him. He leaped out of the tree, high enough so that Sasuke could not reach him with the weapons, and crashed... right _onto_ Sasuke.  
  
_Expect the unexpected, Sasuke._  
  
"Uhn!" Sasuke grunted as Kakashi brought his full weight onto him. Grasping the chakra wire, Kakashi pulled it out of the Uchiha's hands, and threw it a good twenty feet away.  
  
Then, launching into taijutsu, Kakashi began to mercilessly attack the boy. Sasuke had no time to act; he had to get into his stance, but the Jonin obviously had no intention of ever letting him do so. Sasuke could have easily defended with the Dance of the Snake taijutsu but that was something he could not do if he wished to continue breathing. So this fight was taking far more concentration on his part than what it should've, considering he had to make a conscious effort to not use moves that were ingrained into his automatic responses. Which was why his Uchiha style was so damn sloppy.  
  
Finally, a hard, direct upper kick to the jaw sent Sasuke flying. The boy crash landed onto the shore, and Kakashi walked to his side. He was unconscious. Well that was unexpected. Sasuke hadn't been in this fight physically, like he was thinking too much. Kakashi sighed in frustration, having hoped to push the boy into revealing his true strength but had had no such luck.  
  
Kakashi allowed himself a small smile as he picked the boy up however, noticing how wet Sasuke was from landing in the pond earlier. This boy was interesting... He would have to ask Minatosensei about it later. And was definitely more skilled then what he wanted them to believe, even taking into account all his little slip ups.

* * *

"Aaargh!" Naruto kicked at the tree, clearly frustrated. It was already dark! Why couldn't he get this exercise? He had made little to no progress at all.  
  
Sakura tried to calm him down. "Naruto-kun," she started, "maybe if you would let me help..."  
  
Naruto sighed. He hated this! He hated this stupid exercise and that arrogant dobe! But, he would never get done unless he asked for Sakura's help... "Fine. What do I need to do?"  
  
Sakura grinned. Her love was asking her for help! It was a dream come true! Wait until Ino-pig hears about this, she thought. "Well, first you need to concentrate. Is there anything irrelevant to this exercise that you're thinking of right now?"  
  
"Kakashi. The dobe."  
  
"Maybe if you stopped thinking about them, it would help..."  
  
He snorted, but accepted her advice. After all, he didn't have anyone else's advice to follow. A small voice reminded him that he actually didn't know how long it had taken the dobe to learn this, but then again, that was irrelevant, the dobe knew it already and that was all that mattered. _Don't think about them, don't think about them..._  
  
He started running again, focusing his chakra to the soles of his feet, and began his ascent. Almost there, almost there, almost there - no, his feet were losing their stick - he couldn't - he was - falling –

"AARRGGHH!"

* * *

"Here you go," Tsunami smiled gently and placed a bowl of rice and a variety of vegetables in front of Sasuke. "I know it's not much, but please enjoy anyway." Sasuke, before coming here, had debated the merits of actually bringing his own food, knowing just how little they had. But there were some cases were helping was only making things worse. Tazuna and his daughter would have been offended if he'd done that, so he hadn't.  
  
"It doesn't matter," he shrugged, picking up his chopsticks. The bowl of food wasn't much, but he was used to hunger from Orochimaru's hideout. Besides, after waking up from unconsciousness after a fight with a Jonin, anything would be fine. He nibbled at the rice experimentally, then began to hungrily shove food into his mouth.  
  
Kakashi watched him with mild amusement, though he supposed the boy deserved it. After all, he had held his ground in their spar and it had only been Kakashi's relentlessness that had prevented him from actually getting any to any sort of effective defensive stance. Who know where that spar would've gone if not for that. The Jonin's eyes narrowed. He would have to keep a closer eye on his student...  
  
The door swung open with a bang, revealing a battered Naruto and exhausted Sakura. The pinkhaired girl was leaning on the blond, much to his discomfort. Both of them trudged to the table, sitting down in the only two empty chairs left.  
  
Sasuke stared at Naruto impassively, and the blond stared back just as impassively. A smirk crept up the Uchiha's face. He knew what was going to happen here and for some reason, he did not want to avoid it in the slightest. Sakura and Kakashi watched the two boys carefully, unsure as to if they should act or not.  
  
Suddenly, both boys took up their chopsticks and began to hungrily shove food into their mouths. Sakura was disgusted, while Kakashi was amused. _Boys_ , they both thought.  
  
Abruptly the two boys stopped eating, each turning a shade of pale green. Both of them leaned over the side and emptied the contents of their stomach out.  
  
_Some things never change,_ Sasuke thought dryly as he vomited, mentally cringing at the amount of work he had to do now before he could go to bed.

* * *

As soon as Sasuke stepped foot onto the unfinished bridge, he knew - and was fairly sure Kakashi- _sensei_ knew as well - that something was wrong. It was a sort of sixth sense among experienced Shinobi: the ability to more or less be able to tell if something was wrong. And at the moment, he could almost imagine red lights blaring all over the place.  
  
He sniffed the air; what was that smell? It was familiar, definitely. In fact, it reminded him of Orochimaru's lab, but that room had held only strange liquids, various metal instruments, and dead bodies.  
  
Sasuke froze. Dead bodies?  
  
That was right. It fit in with his list of "Wave Country memories." Last time, he, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei (he noted mentally how addressing the Jonin as that seemed oddly fitting, and he didn't seem to be placing as much emphasis on the word, but shrugged it off as an influence from the Naruto-ish Sasuke) had arrived to see Tazuna's workers dead. After that, the fight against Zabuza and - Heiko? Hako? What was the boy's name again?  
  
He frowned. That boy - whatever his name was - had beaten him, no doubt. Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan, yes, but other than that, he had been utterly humiliated; the dobe had beaten the boy instead.  
  
It was not one of his proudest memories.  
  
But this time he could change it, because he _knew_ what was going to happen.  
  
The oh-so familiar mist began shrouding the bridge and the dead workers. Tazuna gave an exclamation of terror, immediately cowering behind his hired Shinobi, and said Shinobi rolled their eyes. Kakashi stood boldly, staring into the mist. Sakura seemed unsure of herself; she had had only a little time to sharpen her kunoichi skills. Naruto was still at Tazuna's house; they had not been able to wake him up, so they had left him and he was going to be pissed for it.  
  
Now Sasuke had begun to regret leaving him, this he could handle, but a pissed off dobe was not something he really wanted to deal with.  
  
He gritted his teeth; this tense silence was beginning to get on his nerves. Kakashi-sensei was doing nothing but standing there, and Sakura was shivering with fright and cold.  
  
"So, the Second White Fang has arrived... Shall we play, Kakashi?" Zabuza's voice rang out from every direction.  
  
Sakura froze, and glanced at her teacher, who seemed calm at the voice. _I thought the man was dead! What - why_  
  
"Indeed," Kakashi's eyes flashed with the prospect of a challenge. He unsheathed his chakra blade.  
  
As soon as he had done that, eight Zabuza clones had appeared and surrounded the group. Tazuna shrieked, terrified, but Kakashi looked unfazed. The Jonin's eye flashed. "Sasuke," he said, addressing the boy. He spoke only one command: "Go wild."  
  
Sasuke's onyx eyes flashed red, with three tomoes spinning wildly, but Kakashi wasn't looking at him to see. He grinned maniacally, and in a split second, all of the Zabuza mizu clones had collapsed into water. Sakura gaped openly; it seemed as if Sasuke had not moved at all. She took a quick glance at the supposed "dead last" and was shocked to see that he did not look tired at all. _Just who is Sasuke, anyway?_ she wondered, confused.  
  
_Impressive_ , thought Zabuza, _but he will never be a match for Haku._ "Haku."  
  
 _So that was the boy's name,_ Sasuke remembered. It seemed to fit with his other bridge memories, not that it mattered.  
  
"Hai, Zabuza-sama?" A masked boy appeared next to his master.  
  
Through the mist, Sakura and the others could see a faint outline of Zabuza and the hunter-nin who had appeared at their last encounter. Her eyes widened. "Isn't that the Shinobi who was supposed to kill Zabuza?" Sometimes, Sasuke found himself wondering why Sakura was the smartest in their year if this was how she reacted to these types of situations. He wondered if she'd gotten better over the years. But she was still a far cry better than Naruto had ever been, is Naruto anyway, the way he himself was supposed to be in this world.  
  
It was not Kakashi but Sasuke who answered. "The hunter-nin has been on Zabuza's side the whole time."  
  
Sakura turned towards her teacher, a silent doubt in her eyes, but he answered, "Sasuke's right,  
Sakura. The masked boy has always been on Zabuza's side."  
  
She turned back to Zabuza and the other Shinobi - whatever his name was - with her eyes slightly widened. It would be her first real fight, and quite honestly, she wasn't particularly eager to engage in battle. Sakura gulped, a feeling of great dread in her stomach.  
  
"Why did we let them go then?" Sakura squeaked out.  
  
"At the time it had only been a hunch and I was nearing chakra exhaustion. A Shinobi who poses as a hunter-nin should have a hunter-nin's skills." Kakashi replied, eyes taking in Haku and remembering the speed with which he dodged the attack.  
  
Sasuke smirked.  
  
Sakura glared at her teammate. How could he be so calm at a time like this? Two missing-nin were facing them, one infamous in the Shinobi world and the other a hunter-nin! And he was _smirking?!_  
  
Sasuke ignored his pink-haired teammate, his Sharingan eyes instead focused on Haku. The masked boy made no implication that he had noticed the Uchiha, but with the mask on it was impossible to tell. His voice was young, though hollow. "Zabuza-san... I will be quick with this one."  
  
Immediately Sasuke and Haku rushed forward, engaging in a battle of quick taijutsu. It was hardly a real battle; the two opponents were only gauging their enemy's skill. Neither seemed to be getting the advantage.  
  
Suddenly, Haku thrust his hand forward, and the puddle they were fighting on began to quiver. Sasuke jumped back, his feet no longer touching the puddle - he remembered the other's kekkei genkai; ice manipulation.  
  
A split second after Sasuke had retreated, icy spikes flew out of the water, aimed for him, but he dodged easily. _They don't seem as fast as I remember,_ he thought, _but then again,_ one of his trademark smirks came over his face, _I'm not as slow as I was._  
  
He expertly caught the three senbon Haku threw in between his fingers, twisting his hand around and then tossing them aside. Neither of them attacked for the next few moments. Sasuke gritted his teeth, thinking, _I wish I had had more time to branch out on opponents at the Hebi's. There are little to no ice-type Shinobi in Sound because this boy had been the last one with this much skill. Orochimaru is only interested in skill. I can only rely on my memory, and yet I can't, because things may be different here_  
  
His thoughts were cut off by a cascade of more senbon, but this time aimed for his feet to lower his speed. Sasuke jumped back, and the needles landed in perfect symmetry at his feet, lined up neatly in a long row. He ignored the queasy feeling in his stomach, and ran towards Haku with all of his speed. The masked boy seemed surprised, by his movements - or lack thereof. It seemed as if the hunter-nin had not expected the Uchiha to resort to close-range attacks.  
  
Sasuke slammed his foot into Haku's stomach, and the shocked boy stumbled back a few feet. Giving him no time to recover, the Uchiha appeared behind Haku and kicked again, this time at the upper back. Haku crumpled to the ground as a result of the combination of attacks. _That taijutsu..._ he thought. _It was stronger than usual. Those blows..._ _had chakra in them? He's supposed to be a genin! Then again he had stopped Zabuza-sama's blade…_  
  
 _Forgive me, Zabuza-sama... I will have to use that jutsu early._  
  
"Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou!"

* * *

Sakura watched in horror as a ring of large, reflective ice mirrors formed around Sasuke. She was not particularly close to the boy, but he was her teammate, and she could only feel the fear that was edging in on her. "Sasuke! Get out of there!" she yelled, but both of the Genin knew it was hopeless. The mirrors had already surrounded Sasuke completely, leaving no room for escape.  
  
Sakura could only stare, terrified of what could happen next. But for some reason, Sasuke hadn't really seemed as concerned about his fate as he should've been.

* * *

Sasuke gritted his teeth. How could he have forgotten about Haku's Demonic Ice Mirrors? That was the central part of the fight! He shouldn't have let that boy get the chance to perform this move.  
  
Now, the chances of him winning were lessening with each passing moment.  
  
"I am sorry, but I will kill my heart if I must." Haku's voice echoed, seeming less human than before.  
  
That voice. Those words. It was as if they had come out of his dreams, or memories. Sasuke didn't remember exactly, but - _somehow,_ they seemed familiar. He ignored the growing butterflies in his stomach, surprising Haku with one of his trademark smirks. "That's okay, it won't matter either way."  
  
Haku smiled behind his mask. _This one... he is strong_. "I will regret killing you."  
  
Sasuke's confident smirk did not falter. "That is, if you can."  
  
The masked boy did not reply, but instead took one step backwards into a large ice mirror. Now, he was simply an image in a mirror. He stared at the other, who showed no change in expression. _Strange..._  
  
Sasuke closed his eyes, then opened them, revealing the crimson red Sharingan, that he had deactivated during the spar seeing as Kakashi's attention had been focused on them.  
  
_So... he is of_ that _clan,_ Haku thought. He began to leap from mirror to mirror, in hopes that this would confuse his opponent - though he knew it was a vain attempt at trying to confuse a Sharingan user with speed.  
  
Sasuke's smirk disappeared as he focused in on the blur that was Haku. It wasn't as difficult as some of the opponents he had fought, that was for sure. But he needed to defeat Haku in a way that seemed accidental, just in case Kakashi was watching. _After all... I don't need him on my case for this, now do I?_  
  
Suddenly, Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his right forearm. It had been struck with a few senbon. Immediately he felt stupid, and mentally berated himself for not paying attention.  
  
He swore. Those senbon were so _annoying._ Only this time, he was faster than last then when he had to fight against them before.

* * *

"Where are the others?" Naruto asked Tsunami, who was washing some dishes. She stopped humming.  
  
"Oh, they left for the bridge already." she replied with a smile. "Kakashi-san wanted you to have some rest today; after all, you were training very hard yesterday."  
  
Naruto scowled. It was _always_ him. _Always_ the one left out, _always_ the one idolized but never known, _always_ known as _his son_. It must have been Kakashi's and that Sasuke's work. They were always scheming, sharing looks that said they knew something the others did not. He knew there was another reason Sasuke was on this team and it wasn't because he had a crush on Sakura or that he wanted Kakashi as a sensei. Kakashi's reputation as the Jonin with the most failed teams under his belt had not gone unnoticed by him and if Sasuke was half as good as Naruto thought he was, Sasuke knew this as well. There was something much deeper going on here. "So, they're on the bridge."  
  
"Mm-hm." Tsunami nodded in assent.  
  
He walked out the door. "I'll be back later." As soon as he had exited the house, he began to sprint as fast as he could towards the bridge.  
  
_That dobe's not going to get all of the glory!_

* * *

Kakashi frowned as large ice mirrors rose out of the water and surrounded his student. He was concerned; that jutsu was very dangerous, by what he could tell, and would be too difficult for a Genin to defeat. _But,_ he smiled to himself, _Sasuke is no ordinary Genin, by what he did against me in our little spar._ So he was only concerned, and not overly worried. He just prayed that he would not come to regret this.  
  
He turned to Zabuza, who was also watching his subordinate fight.  
  
The silver-haired Jonin wanted to attack his opponent right away, without warning, but that would be so _ungentlemanly,_ a voice tried to convince him.  
  
_Screw_ consciences and manners.  
  
He drew his sword and lunged at Zabuza, who seemed to not have taken notice of this action. Kakashi was getting closer, and closer   
  
Until a large zanbatou obscured his view of Zabuza. The two blades clashed and Kakashi and Zabuza faced off in a battle of strengths: who could keep their blade from losing ground?  
  
"I see. You're not going to make it easy for me to kill you, are you?" Zabuza tried to keep his voice even so as not to display weakness, but was surprised to find that it was harder than he had anticipated.  
  
"I am not a fool, Zabuza," Kakashi replied just as evenly. "Besides, I try not to make a habit of being dead."  
  
Zabuza smirked, and at the same moment, both of them jumped back. The two surveyed their opponents; it would be an interesting fight, they both surmised.  
  
And, suddenly, both of them lunged at each other in the most furious of attacks. It was mostly blade-to-blade attacks, though with an occasional chakra thrust here and there. Kakashi held his chakra blade in one hand and used a kunai in the other, while Zabuza held his zanbatou with two hands, putting his full weight behind his attacks.  
  
Zabuza was beginning to get very frustrated; Kakashi was not defending himself from the huge blade but was instead dodging it. On the whole, Zabuza was using far more energy than Kakashi was, not to mention the loss of balance. Having a blade that big was one thing, it was another thing entirely to control the direction of the swings.  
  
_Hmph,_ he thought, _this fight is already pointless by kenjutsu._ He jumped back and raised one hand in the air, and put another hand to the bandages on his face.  
  
"Kirigakure no Jutsu!"  
  
Kakashi had a sinking feeling as his vision suddenly became obscured by mist. What was it with those Mist morons and all their fricken water? Personally, Kakashi liked staying nice and dry but this was not to be as the mist rose up around them and clung to the clothing's fabric, sinking in and making the jonin shiver slight.  
  
_Ah hell._

* * *

Naruto was jumping through the trees as fast as he could when he saw something strange. He stopped abruptly, and landed in a small clearing.  
  
There was a boar on the ground, mercilessly slaughtered. It was obvious this had been done not by an animal but by a swordsman.  
  
_But why..._  
  
Naruto saw a few more slashes on the trees, each leading closer and closer to   
  
_Oh._  
  
 _Tazuna's house._  
  
Naruto blinked for a few moments, then disappeared in a flash, travelling the way he had just come.  
  
_Geez, they'd better have some pretty skilled enemies. Or it'd be just a waste, coming all this way and turning back..._

* * *

Sasuke breathed heavily. His cold breath chilled his lips, and he closed them immediately, licking his lips in a feeble attempt to warm them up. But he stopped abruptly, choosing instead to put his full concentration on dodging the almost-invisible senbon that were constantly being fired.  
  
He swore silently as he had to dodge another line of senbon. _How many does Haku have, anyway? Maybe he makes them out of ice just to be a jackass about it._  
  
Though he was fairly sure that he could evade Haku's senbon until the boy ran out, Sasuke was certain things would go exactly the way they had been the last time - which he did not want, considering the fact that Naruto had too much of an ego already - and one of his teammates might be seriously injured. So, that idea was crossed off. He may be faster than he was last time, but he still didn't know how to break the mirrors. He'd been unconscious when Naruto had done it.  
  
Next plan. Direct attack? No, the ice mirrors would reflect any physical attacks done.  
  
_I wonder..._  
  
Sasuke landed in front of the mirror Haku was on, startling the masked boy. Obviously he had not expected Sasuke to stop directly in front of him. Sasuke smirked, and widened his Sharingan eyes, the three tomoe spinning rapidly.  
  
Haku made the deadly mistake of making eye contact.

* * *

Inari watched helplessly as two men threatened his mother. He had never felt more useless in his  
life. He sniffled, catching the attention of the two Shinobi. Immediately he realized his mistake, and cowered behind the edge of the wall.  
  
One of them laughed. "I spy a little rat." He began to walk towards Inari.  
  
"Don't! If you do, I'll bite my tongue and die!" Tsunami's clearly terrified voice rang out.  
  
The man walking towards Inari froze and turned around to glare at Tsunami, but the other stopped him, saying, "We only need one hostage. Let's go."  
  
"Aww, I wanted to have some blood."  
  
"Leave him."  
  
The man frowned, but left Inari as his peer had told him. The three left the house, walking slowly to torture the boy even more.  
  
Inari watched in silent shock, unsure of what to do or how to respond. He wasn't strong. He wasn't brave. He was a nobody who would only die if he stood up to Gatou and his men.  
  
_"So that's it, then. You're just going to give up? Listen, Inari! Nothing will happen if you do nothing! At least I'll do something! You might as well just keep on crying, Inari. You crybaby!"_  
  
The Uchiha's words rang loudly in his mind and the boy made a decision.  
  
Inari had to do something. He wasn't going to be useless anymore! He was going to be a hero, like his father!  
  
Dashing to his feet and after the men, Inari opened his mouth and yelled.  
  
"Stop!"

* * *

Suddenly, Haku found himself in a black-and-white world; there were no in between colours, no shades of grey. Simply black or white making everything appear flat, bizarre. It was strange - Haku could not feel his fingers, or the comforting cold of his ice. He could feel nothing in this world except a sense of foreboding. Something was going to happen and there was nothing he could do to defend himself here.  
  
It took him a few moments to fully realize his situation. He was bound to a tall, rough cross about fifteen feet high or so, but he was not sure; it was so hard to tell in this two-coloured world, a world that looked better suited for a cartoon.  
  
For miles and miles in every direction he could twist his head there was nothing in sight. Not a mountain, a river, or even a single blade of grass, just lots and lots of nothing.  
  
Haku glanced down at his body and squinted. What was its colour? It kept on shifting, from black to white to black again and seemingly - yet not seemingly - to every colour in between.  
  
It was all so surreal.  
  
And for the first time in a long time, Haku was scared.  
  
_Really_ scared.  
  
This "Genin," Sasuke, was certainly no Genin at all. He had had his doubts about the status of the boy earlier, when his opponent had dodged his senbon with ease, but now there was no mistake.  
Frankly, it terrified him to know that this mere twelve-year-old boy was able to fully use an at least Jonin-level genjutsu. He had known of the Sharingan long before he knew of his own Kekkei Genkai, but he did not know the Uchiha clan trained the doujutsu to be so powerful at such a young age. Already there were three black tomoes rapidly swirling in those eyes.  
  
Sasuke, that Genin, appeared in front of him. Or so it appeared; again, the rapidly shifting colours made it hard for Haku to define his surroundings confidentially. The Genin could've been standing there this whole time without Haku realizing it. Perhaps if he spoke, the Haku would finally have a clear understanding of what was going on around him. But there was nothing but those blood red eyes, promising nothing but pain.  
  
Two unblinking crimson orbs, the only colour in the blank world, locked in with Haku's masked brown ones. Neither spoke for some time, until Haku could finally summon enough courage to speak to his captor. "What is this?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.  
  
"Genjutsu." Apparently the other had little intention of revealing its name. Or a sense of humour in leaving the answer vague and somewhat stating the obvious. But it was nice to have it confirmed.  
  
"It can't be. Genjutsu is broken by stopping the chakra flow -"  
  
"Unless the caster is more powerful than the victim."  
  
It took Haku a few seconds to fully comprehend this. A caster more powerful than himself. His fullest ability was Jonin, Zabuza had often commented. Was he not trying his fullest to get out of this? Was he not trying to escape this nightmare, and help his master? A mere boy, with minimum experience, he was sure, was defeating him in genjutsu. The boy was an Uchiha, certainly, but could such a young boy fully utilize a powerful genjutu?  
  
Well, all the hunter-nin need do was look around him and he'd have his answers.  
  
 _Apparently so._  
  
"What are you going to do with me, now that I'm in your power?" _Play along and hope he's not as powerful as he seems,_ Haku told himself, ignoring the fact that he'd had the ball in his court for quite some time and had been messing with the supposed genin until he'd locked Haku in this genjutsu world.  
  
The other boy gave a smirk which made chills run up and down Haku's spine, the hair on the back of his neck rising in alarm as well. "We'll see how long you can last in this genjutsu of mine."  
  
Haku's eyes widened as he was instantly overcome with pain.

* * *

Inari cowered in fear. His conscience was urging him to run away, screaming as it had never done before. _Run!_ it said, _Run! Your tou-san could not resist Gatou's men. What makes you think you can?_  
  
But his kaa-san needed saving, and he, Inari, small as he was, would not run from those two Shinobi. It was high time he did something, anything!  
  
"Leave her alone," he choked, unable to say any more.  
  
One of them laughed. "Really? And what will you do if we don't?"  
  
"Please don't!" Tsunami begged her captors. "If you do, I'll bite my tongue and - "  
  
She was cut off abruptly as one of the Shinobi, clearly annoyed with her threats, struck her on the  
back of the neck with a swift motion of his hand. He laughed cruelly, earning a shiver from the terrified Inari. "She was becoming a nuisance," he smirked.  
  
Inari stared at them. Now he had no protection. There was no guarantee that the Shinobi would not take him as well, or worse. He started to back up, slowly, but the Shinobi advanced.  
  
Really what had he been thinking? What did he, of all people, think he could ever achieve against men like these?  
  
"You two should really learn to pick on people your own size." A voice suddenly broke the atmosphere, and they turned to see a blond Genin behind them.  
  
"Cocky brat," one of them growled, but the other put a hand on his shoulder. With the other hand he gripped the handle of his wakizashi.  
  
"Leave it. I'll handle the brat. Just take the woman and the boy." He started to advance onto Naruto.  
  
Naruto smirked. "You're too slow." He vanished, shocking the two Shinobi.  
  
Suddenly, they felt the points of kunai at their backs. Both froze.  
  
That Genin's voice was filled with contempt. "Inari, help me bind these two up."

* * *

Kakashi watched the ice mirrors warily as the former sound of senbon hitting ice diminished. He had no idea what happened, but the pit in his stomach was slowly worsening. Pessimistic thoughts crowded his mind, and he tried to push them away, but it was in vain. _They're going to die,_ was the mantra in his head, _they're going to die - their first C-ranked mission, and they're going to die-_  
  
 _Can't think of that. Too much of a distraction._  
  
He turned towards his opponent, who seemed not to be afraid for his subordinate. Kakashi narrowed his eye - his strategical mind was already running through the possible fates Sasuke could've had and how to defeat Zabuza now.  
  
How was he going to explain this one to Minato-sensei? Obito was never going to let him live it down. _Oh Kami._ Another person popped into Kakashi's mind and he didn't know whether to abandon his fight with Zabuza and assist Sasuke right there and then or risk it and then face that person's wrath.  
  
A cold laugh echoed in the air, muffled slightly as mist began to fill the bridge again. "It seems as if your subordinate has died, Kakashi. Ah well, no Genin of yours could stand against Haku."  
  
There was no reply; Kakashi had chosen to form a few seals and whisper a jutsu name. Zabuza could see no immediate change in the landscape, and stiffened; it was easy to dodge an attack that he could see, but one that was invisible was doubly dangerous.  
  
Or, had Kakashi pulled a fake and formed random seals while whispering nonsense?  
  
_That tricky bastard,_ Zabuza mentally prepared for an attack. _He could do either. Anything can be expected._  
  
It was at that point Kakashi chose to disappear from sight.  
  
And it was just that; he vanished without a trace. No smoke, no sound, no trace left.  
  
Zabuza blinked twice in surprise, and then laughed. "You are definitely worthy of the title of the Second White Fang, Kakashi. I see; the hand seals were a distraction, weren't they?" He turned to the right, and then the left, up, down. ANBU. Kakashi was rumoured to be ex-ANBU and those guys were nothing short of manic psychopaths. Or so Zabuza had heard. He'd never stuck around long enough to find out for himself. Finally, he turned around.  
  
His eyes widened in horror as he saw Kakashi's face six inches from his face. His sword meant nothing with Kakashi this close. He had no time to act   
  
Zabuza saw crimson red.

* * *

Sakura stifled a terrified scream as someone tapped her on the shoulder. That is, she _would've_ if she _could've._ A hand had already clamped over her lips and pulled her backwards. To her surprise and girlish delight, it was Naruto who had pulled her back.  
  
"Naruto-kun!" she gasped, blushing. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to rest!"  
  
Naruto looked at her disdainfully. She was thinking about his rest when there was danger on the bridge? How shallow was this girl? He turned away from her. "Whatever. Watch Tazuna. I'm going to fight that ice nin."  
  
She grasped his wrist before he could leave. "Why don't you stay here with me? Sasuke's already fighting him!" Her green eyes begged him, but his aquamarine eyes hardened.  
  
"Exactly."

* * *

Haku let out a scream or pure terror and utter excruciating pain as he was released from the genjutsu. He fell limply from the ice mirror like a puppet having it's chakra strings cut one by one, and slowly, all of the mirrors began to crack. Suddenly, they shattered … the sound deafening in the silence that had dominated the air till now. Still, that sound was muffled by the mist that was gradually beginning to fade as well. The masked boy lay motionless on the ground, the only sign of life his uneven, shallow breathing.  
  
Sasuke closed his eyes; that untested genjutsu had taken a large toll on him. Granted, it had not been the best choice at the time, but there was no one he could test it on in this world without having them blab out to the Hokage about his skill. And that was the last thing he needed.  
  
"So that pitiful jutsu was your secret weapon?" he couldn't help stabbing at the hyouton's pride. _Huh... it must be an Uchiha thing,_ he thought. "I've seen Academy students do better." _Well, not really, but considering this is a fight... I can lie, can't I?_  
  
Haku pushed himself up with difficulty, gasping for breath. "You... You are strong... but - "  
  
"Dobe, what are you doing?" Both turned to see a familiar blond Genin. Naruto's question was phrased casually, but Sasuke could see his sapphire eyes hardening and flashing with anger. And he knew exactly what had caused that anger. Naruto had rushed over here, so that he could take part in the fight, having been out shone the whole mission by Sasuke, only to get here in time to see Sasuke defeat the hunter-nin. His pride was stinging. Sasuke had a better idea than anyone ever would.  
  
But what was he supposed to do? Stand by and wait to be rescued, letting Haku use him as a pincushion like he had the first time around? Naruto's pride would survive if Sasuke stopped showing his actual skill, and sat back quietly and let the blond have all the glory. He supposed he could live with that till the chunin exams. But then the whole cycle would flare up again. What would satisfy Naruto?

More power. Sasuke could offer it to him, but would the blond take it?

* * *

He was bleeding.  
  
Zabuza stared emotionlessly at Kakashi, blood leaking out of his mouth. His body was horribly mutilated; there was hardly a place where there had not been slash marks. He hadn't even been aware that it was even possible to move that fast but this was the student of Konoha's Yellow Flash. He should have known better.  
  
Kakashi's chakra blade was piercing his chest.  
  
He smiled - a sad sort of smile. The type when one knows they're going to die, and they can do nothing about it. It was exactly that. "... I see... So ends my life... The Demon of the Mist..." Then he paused, seemingly remembering something. "You... take care... of Haku..."  
  
The silver-haired Jonin returned the request with blank onyx eyes. _Apparently, the so-called Demon isn't so heartless after all_ , he thought.  
  
He stared at the nuke-nin, the ninja's story playing in his mind. A man who was trying to free his village from an oppressive reign. A mission he'd failed and now a mission he'd never get to complete. Kakashi actually felt that this whole fight had been such a waste, so utterly pointless.  
  
But he would not show pity for the Shinobi. He would not humiliate him like that.  
  
Zabuza let out one last shallow breath, and his eyes dulled. Kakashi jerked his chakra blade out of the body's chest; Zabuza's body fell onto the ground with a thud. The noise seemed to echo on the bridge, and for a moment all was quiet.

* * *

Haku stared in horror as he watched his master's body fall back from the outstretched sword that Jonin was holding. This was it. His master was dead, and he no longer cared to live. His lips split, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out.  
  
Sasuke stared at Haku blankly. _He was so close to Zabuza,_ he thought, _and yet..._ He swallowed, finding it surprisingly hard to do. _Is this what it feels like?_ he blinked twice, forcing the tears back. _To know someone you love has died? It's been so long since the massacre... But... why do I feel sad? It's not as if it was_ my _master who has died._  
  
 _Then again, didn't Naruto cry for Haku that first time around?_  
  
"So the old man finally died, huh?" Naruto's voice was filled with nothing but pure _smirk._  
  
Sasuke's eyes darted over to Haku. They widened slightly as Haku stood up, shaking with fury. The shadow over the hyouton's face suddenly lifted, and two furious ice-blue eyes glared at Naruto. "Don't you _dare..._ " his voice shook with anger, "call Zabuza-san an old man!" Haku leaped at Naruto with surprising speed, considering he had just broken out of that Genjutsu. But as Haku had taught Naruto, you're only truly strong when fighting for someone precious to you.  
  
_That dobe is so incredibly stupid at times-_  
  
Still, stupid or not this was Naruto. This was his dobe and his reason for fighting and Haku was aiming to kill him. Sasuke would not stand for that. A rage he had never managed to muster himself into ever before sparked to life within him and he acted without thinking.  
  
In a flash, it was all over. Sasuke gritted his teeth as he tried to ignore the increasing pain in his right arm. He was in front of Naruto with his arm outstretched and Haku had his hand on the senbon that were meant for the blond but were instead in Sasuke's arm. Haku hadn't even  
bothered to throw it.  
  
"Don't you _dare,"_ Sasuke's Sharingan eyes seemed to gleam with a red that was completely inhuman, verging on the point of insanity, _"touch my precious person!"_  
  
Suddenly, Haku was hit by a blast of pure chakra. Red chakra. Evil - unwholesome - dirty - chakra. He had never felt this type of chakra before, and it felt as if it were on a completely different level. He couldn't resist-  
  
He flew back, off of the edge of the bridge, and dropped into the water.  
  
Sasuke grit his teeth as he focused on reigning in toxic chakra of the Kyuubi. That had been far too easy to call upon. If he remembered correctly, Naruto had only managed to crack the seal now, in Wave. Sasuke, it appeared, had managed it sooner.  
  
Sasuke panted heavily, and it seemed as if that had taken all of his energy. He found new respect for the Naruto of his world because the blond had to deal with this all the time, this anger and pain, this urge to maim anything that so much as moved.  
  
Then, he turned around to face Naruto. The blonde's sapphire eyes widened in terror. Sasuke's whole face had changed. There were semi-dark lines across his cheeks, oddly like whisker marks, and his eyes were not of the Sharingan but burning red. Lights danced furiously inside of those blood red pupils.  
  
But the red chakra was receding, those eyes softening from the furious, wild, hatred to something more like a Sasuke-ish glare. Which was still pretty darn intimidating.  
  
But what scared Naruto the most was Sasuke's expression. It was of anger, but also insanity, a mask of pure unreasonable rage. It reminded the blond of a wild animal.  
  
"Don't ever," Sasuke's voice was rough, a growl of warning, " _ever_ insult someone's precious person."  
  
And for perhaps the first time in his life, Naruto couldn't speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe <3


End file.
